My Love, My Soul
by Rose Asali
Summary: The handsome prince of Earth becomes enamored of a beautiful Moon princess...but not in the way you'd expect.
1. Foreword

Love And Soul__

As a Sailormoon fanfiction, most of the characters in the story belong to Takeuchi Naoko, the brains behind the _Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon_ storyline, and they belong to her and all the other companies that own the characters in Japan, North America, and around the world.  Many other concepts, objects, and parts of the story belong to Takeuchi Naoko, and I in no way claim any possession of any of these.

The plot, however – the main love story between Serenity and Endymion – is a twisting of the myth of Psyche and Eros, written by the second century poet Apuleius.  The translation of the myth I use is the one found in Edith Hamilton's _Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes_.

The subplots are also myths told by Roman and Greek poets.  Ami's tale is the story of Ceyx and Alcyone, told by Ovid; Rei's is the story of Pygmalion and Galatea by Ovid.  Makoto's is the story of Pyramus and Thisbe, also by Ovid.  The last tale, Minako's, is the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, the main story told by Apollonius, Virgil, and...Ovid.  They've all also been slightly twisted as well, and I suggest you read them in _Mythology_ or find the myth somewhere else to find out exactly what I've done, as I can't tell you lest I spoil the story :)

As this tale is based heavily on Edith Hamilton's recounting of "Psyche and Eros" from her book _Mythology_, I've borrowed a few lines from Ms. Hamilton's text. They are scattered throughout the chapters.

Besides that, however, the words are all mine.

I hope you enjoy ^_^


	2. The Sculpture

The Sculpture 

***

The sculptor frowned, wrinkled his brow, then put his chisel and hammer back to the large block of marble, partially chiseled into already.  The marble was beginning to take on the form of a woman, beautiful and curvilinear, tender to lay eyes upon.

He looked back at his subject, then at the sculpture and proceeded to continue.  Suddenly he threw down his tools and sighed in half-frustration, half-admiration.

"I can't do it any longer," he told his subject helplessly.  "There is no possible way to capture that beauty by sculpture.  You are simply too beautiful."

The sculptor's subject dropped her pose and stared at him.

"What do you mean, she's 'too beautiful'?" asked her father, stepping forward with an angry look on his face.  "I've had sculptures of my other two daughters done by their seventeenth birthdays.  I want one for my youngest daughter as well.  What's wrong with _you_?"

"Your majesty, you know as well as I do that your other two daughters are of no comparison to this one of yours," the sculptor said.  "They know it themselves.  The entire planet speaks of your daughter's tender beauty.  The news even spreads to the Terrans, who whisper of a goddess on the moon above.  She is the most beautiful young woman ever to live, and this marble simply does her no justice."

King Hyperion sighed.  He'd had the same problem with the last three sculptors who'd come to make a statue of his daughter's form, each one respectively more expensive, up until the most expensive, this one.  All had the same complaint—that with even their excellent skill, they still could not capture the beauty of his daughter in the stone they shaped.

"Fine.  Be off with you," said King Hyperion, and he waved his hand.  Two guards came to the sculptor's side and escorted him off the premises.  He was still blinking from staring at his subject, and shaking his head in disbelief.

The sculptor's beautiful subject sat down sadly, a tear running down her cheek.

"Oh, Serenity, don't cry," said King Hyperion, gathering his daughter in his arms.  "I'm so sorry.  I'll find another one, I promise."

"No," said Serenity, shaking her head.  "No more.  They all go away so discouraged.  I don't want anymore to come and try."

Hyperion nodded.  "All right then.  I'll hire no more."

"Your highness," said a messenger most respectfully, standing away from the king and lowering his eyes from the sight of the sobbing young princess, "there are those outdoors who await to see your daughter.  They want to lay eyes on her."

"Tell them to go away," King Hyperion said, annoyed.

"They have travelled all the way from the planet Earth, and they spent much money on this trip.  There is one who is an artist who wishes to paint her."

"Tell them I said—"

"No, Daddy," Serenity said, swiping her tears and looking up at her father with a gentle smile on her face.  "It is okay.  They've come all the way from Earth, after all!  They may come to see me if they wish."

Hyperion let out an exasperated sigh and dragged his fingers through his graying hair.  "All right, Serenity.  I can never deny you anything.  If they do start bothering you, call a messenger to have them sent away."

"Yes, Daddy."

Hyperion gently kissed his daughter on her forehead and stood up to walk away.  He couldn't bear to sit through another ogling session.

***

"Oh, Hyperion, you stress yourself too much."

Hyperion leaned on the bureau and turned to the bed he shared with his wife, Queen Serenity I.  The two rulers gracefully ruled the Moon Kingdom, a kingdom situated on the small white satellite of the blue and green planet beneath called Terra, or Earth.  Their youngest daughter, Serenity II, had been named for the gentle moon queen.  He loved his wife dearly, and all three of his daughters.  But they were always giving him advice, and he hated the fact that they were right most of the time.  In this case, his wife Serenity was right.

"I know.  But Serenity—"  He sighed and stared back at the picture on the bureau.  "It's been a family tradition to have a statue of the girls placed in the hall.  Trivia and Diana have had statues of themselves placed there; I wish to have Serenity have one as well!"

"Oh, Hyperion," Serenity repeated, looking at her husband in amusement.  "You know the main reason that we have prepared the statues of our daughters.  Both Trivia and Diana are also lovely.  Trivia was about to be married, and so you had a statue made for her.  Diana began to be courted a few months later; you knew her marriage was imminent and so you carried on the tradition.  It is basically for us to have something to remember them by, when they go far off to live with their husbands.  Serenity is not engaged at all; there is no man courting her, and no danger of having her whisked away.  Don't worry so.  We have plenty of time to find a sculptor that can capture Serenity's beautiful figure in stone."

Hyperion fell silent.  That was another point that was bothering him.  Princess Serenity was turning seventeen, and, as Queen Serenity mentioned, both of his older daughters were involved with men who would soon become their husbands at that age.  Here Serenity was already seventeen and no man had an interest in courting her; they only wanted to lay eyes on her surpassing loveliness.

"Don't you worry about that either," said Serenity, seeing the cloudy look overtake Hyperion's face.  "Your daughter will marry well.  Both Trivia and Diana have.  Serenity is so very lovely; there are many men who would want her as a wife.  Not only that, she's exceedingly modest, generous, kind...you needn't worry yourself to death over her; the younger they are, the longer they stay close to the home."

"I know…"  Hyperion sighed and turned back to his wife.  "But even you were unhappy with that.  And I know it must disturb Serenity, even though she keeps her chin up."

"That's Serenity," said Serenity, smiling at her husband.  "She's always been able to see the brighter side.  That, she inherited from me."  Her smile turned into a smirk.  "You, on the other hand…"

Hyperion waved his hand at his wife as if to dismiss her words.  "Whatever."

"Whatever nothing.  Get into bed.  It's cold in here and I'd rather you warm me than a candle..."

"What, so that you can wish another daughter upon me?"

As he did climb into bed, Serenity lovingly swatted at her husband.

*****

"Trivia!  You're back home!"

Princess Trivia laughed merrily as her younger sister threw her arms around her neck and hugged her back tightly.  "Oh, I've missed you too, Serenity!  Look at you!  You positively grow more radiant as you grow up!"

"Trivia, you make yourself sound so old!" Serenity's other sister Diana chided, laughing at her sister.  Trivia and Diana were fraternal twins, both of them three years older than Serenity at age twenty.  However, Trivia was already married to a rich governor in the southern unit of the Moon Kingdom, and Diana was about to be married to a governor in a closer and larger unit of the kingdom.

"We're reunited again," said Serenity, tears coming to her eyes.  "Oh, I couldn't wait until you came back, Trivia!  I've been counting the days, too.  You can see my calendar as proof; I've marked off all the days that've passed and—"

"Her mouth gets bigger, too," said Trivia, smiling at her sister.  "Yes, I understand, Serenity!  I've missed you too.  We've been busy down at our end of the Moon Kingdom, what with all the records Orcas has to take care of…oh, does that man ever stop updating?  He does his job quite well, though."  Trivia laughed again, this time in a knowing way.  "He can do other things quite well, too."

Diana smirked at her twin sister.  "Quiet, Trivia, that kind of thing shouldn't reach Serenity's ears!"

"Neither you, at least not until your wedding night!" Trivia said.  "Don't go projecting yourself over Serenity, you're still unmarried as of yet.  Anyway, as I was saying, Orcas had many things to take care of, but I simply couldn't miss my little sister's wedding!"

"Of course not!" said Serenity.  "You're in it."

"Even if I weren't," said Trivia.  "I would definitely come to my younger sister's wedding, just as I will come to yours when you get married, Serenity.  Diana, have you picked anything for the wedding yet?  I want to see dresses and things."

"I haven't done anything yet!" Diana said, throwing her hands in the air.  "I wanted to have both of my sisters with me to help me."  Diana smiled at her two sisters.

"Oh, this is going to be so much fun!" Serenity said.  "The three of us are all together again, and best of all, we're going shopping!"

To that, Diana and Trivia both had to chuckle. 

***

"What color would you like your attendants to wear, Diana?" asked Trivia as she absently picked up a bright yellow dress from the rack.

"Oh, I don't know," said Diana. "Serenity's the maid-of-honor, so she's going to be wearing something a little different from what you and my two other maids will be wearing.  Although techinically you wouldn't be a bridesmaid, right?  You'd be a bridesmatron.  Is there even such a thing?"

"Usually attendants aren't married anyway, Diana," Trivia told her, running her fingers over a white veil that hung above her head.  "I told you that when I wrote back to you last winter."

"Yes, I know," Diana said.  "But I'd hate for you to be excluded from my wedding party simply because you're married.  And Somnus made it so that Orcas would be your escort anyway, right?"

"Yes, he did," said Trivia, smiling.  "I don't know whether I would have done it if he didn't.  I couldn't see myself walking down the aisle with any other man, as the bride or no."

"If getting married means that I can't be in any more weddings," Serenity said, staring at a pink dress in the window, "then I don't think I'd want to get married at all."

At this both Trivia and Diana started laughing.  "You act as if you have been in thousands of weddings before, and it is your favorite thing in the world to do."

"It would be my favorite," Serenity said defensively.  "The beautiful dresses we get to wear, all the lovely flowers we arrange and hold, the love and romance of it all…not to mention the delicious food…"  Serenity grinned.  Eating food, especially sweets, _was_ about her favorite thing to do.  "I've never been in a wedding before.  Even all my friends getting married just invited me, never asked me to be in one.  I'm not resentful, just thinking."

Trivia and Diana exchanged glances.  They knew the reason that Serenity had never been in a wedding…her friends, although friendly, were all jealous of Serenity's extreme beauty.

Trivia and Diana were both very lovely, with petite figures and pearly skin.  Trivia had wavy aqua hair she wore to about the middle of her back, and she usually had a pretty, expensive hair ornament decorating it.  She also had midnight blue eyes to complement her sea-colored features.  Diana was the tallest of the three girls, and she had wavy light amber hair that she wore cut short to frame her head in a halo, and had eyes that were also blue, but lighter than Trivia and Serenity's.  The two girls' beauty was well-spoken of, and they were not to be mistaken for anything less than dazzlingly lovely.

But Serenity…Serenity was a veritable goddess.  Many of those who had the chance to gaze upon her even said that she appeared to be a goddess, coming to consort with mere mortals for a time.  Her pearly skin had a rosy glow to it, her hair long and golden and resplendent as the noonday sun.  Her eyes were bright blue and outsparkled any precious sapphire.  Her figure was perfect, tenderly young and beautifully womanly at the same time.  Most who had seen Serenity had said that she was even more beautiful than the powerful queen who abided on Earth, Queen Beryl of Erebus, who had long been famed as strongly beautiful.

To that end, Serenity's friends invited her to their spring and summer weddings because they loved her as friends, but in reality they worried that if Serenity were arrayed in the dress of a bridesmaid—which at that time, second to the dresses of the bride, were the most elaborately made and expensive dresses to be bought—next to her, their splendor would be shot.  Any woman wants to feel like she is the most beautiful woman in the world on her wedding day, but Serenity's loveliness so exceeded any of them that the girls became jealous and could not allow her to be a maid in their wedding party.

In truth her own sister, Diana, had the same fears.  Serenity had been sick when Trivia had been married, and had been unable to participate in the wedding ceremony.  But now she was of in good health, and Diana had felt the same fears creep into her mind as her younger sister's friends.  What _if_ Serenity stole the limelight away from her?

She shook the idea from her mind.  No, she would never do that.  In addition to being exceedingly beautiful, Serenity was also modest and gracious, so she would imemdiately direct the attention to her older sister at all costs.  Besides, Diana and her family were aspiring to make her truthfully the loveliest bride ever arrayed.

"Let's look at the wedding dresses first," she said decidedly, smiling to herself.  Her younger sister would not outshine her on her special day.

****

Prince Endymion turned his eyes away from the bright Elysian sun, shielding his forehead with his arm.  It was very hot today.  While it was usually temperately warm in Elysian, it was tropical today.

Endymion's deep ocean blue eyes trained themselves on the severely curvilinear woman climbing out of the surrey before his embassy.  Long flaming red hair blew wildly in the wind; hazel-green eyes scanned the area with a catty, serpentine look.  Finally they fell on Endymion, and the young woman smiled, more of a simpering smile than anything else.  She took long strides towards Endymion, her clingy purple dress's train trailing behind her, dragging on the fertile green grass.  The woman was strikingly beautiful, especially with her hair illuminated by the sun.

"Endymion," she said, smiling familiarly.  Endymion nodded a little at her.

"Beryl."  He couldn't exactly say it was nice to have her in Elysian, because really it wouldn't be the truth.  The main reason Queen Beryl was back was because he was afraid of her, and it wouldn't do to tell her that either.  He removed his arm from his forehead, choosing to squint rather than look inferior.

"Oh, don't squint so, Endymion.  Your eyes are so handsome; allow us to see them."  Her evil grin grew broader.  "You just get more gorgeous every year, you fiendish man."

Endymion rolled his eyes but did not reply to the queen's quip.  Instead he signaled to his footmen to take her things inside and motioned to Beryl to follow him.  The smirk still on her face, she followed him in through the main doors of the turreted embassy.  Beryl still did not know where the palace of Elysian was located, seeing as every time she came Endymion bade she stay in the embassy.  She was satisfied with it for now.  It was a beautiful place in any event, the exterior made of marble and the interior wholly expensive as well.

Endymion, shooting a glance back at Beryl, had to admit that the reports about the formidable woman were right.  The woman who struck fear in the hearts of rulers on Earth was young – no older than Endymion himself – petite and extremely gorgeous; yet she carried a daunting aura around her.  He felt a shiver go through his spine as he led her to the receiving room in his embassy.

"Endymion, are you ready to negotiate the handing of this kingdom?" Beryl asked, falling onto a couch in the receiving chamber.  "Because you know it will become mine eventually.  Whatever way I have to go about it."

Endymion fought the urge to cringe.  She certainly was tactless, mortally blunt.

"I'm going to have you, too," she said, half-teasing.  "Just you wait, Endy."

"Please don't call me that," Endymion said, lifting a wine chalice his manservant had brought for him quickly.  "What did you feel you needed to travel all the way from the northern reaches of the Earth to talk to me about, Beryl?"

"Oh, just to chat.  Could you be a dear and hand me the wine?"  Endymion did so.  "I just wanted to talk to you...about a certain threat...north."

"North?"  Endymion raised an eyebrow.  "Of you?"  The woman was batty; her kingdom was situated practically on the North Pole.

"Saying north...I mean...up _there_."  She pointed in the general direction of the ceiling.

It dawned on Endymion she was talking about the Moon Kingdom, and his face darkened.  Generally he was an easy-going sort, peaceful with other nations, but the Moon Kingdom snubbed the Terrans so much.  Even when Beryl had initiated her coup and had overthrown his grandfather's kingdom, they offered no help when he had administered a plea to them.  Which was why Beryl even had a kingdom, now the most powerful kingdom on the planet.

"What kind of trouble are you having with the people up on the Moon?" Endymion asked.  Beryl's kind of trouble was "I can't conquer them".

"Well...a couple just came back from a trip there.  Although ties have been cut _and_ trips to the Moon are _highly_ discouraged..."

"They aren't prohibited, Beryl, at least not in my kingdom."

"Yes, I know.  That's the problem.  These people go and get these silly notions in their heads...there was a couple that went recently.  Not from your kingdom, however; they were from the kingdom of Cyprus.  You know they have some beautiful artists there.  One of them was an artist and wanted to paint the youngest moon princess; guess what report he brought back?"

"What?"

"Wel..."  Beryl had to make this good, and she knew it.  She couldn't reveal that, besides her blatant hatred for the Lunarians, the only reason she was baiting Endymion was jealousy of the youngest moon princess.  Beryl would never admit to jealousy, but truthfully that's what she felt—cold-hearted jealousy of the beautiful young moon princess.  She had seen her herself and could not deny the reports of beauty this young lady was receiving.

Besides, with more and more Terrans going to see this beauty and commencing in worshipping her, it was taking away from her purpose.  Therefore she had to stave the wave.

"What do you want, Beryl?"

"This girl is a troublesome little wench," Beryl said, her jealousy and hatred getting the best of her.  She hated the fact that some were proclaiming that the stupid moon princess' beauty could surpass her own.  She leaned against the chaise lounge.  _At least I have my handsome little flunky here_, she thought, smirking.  "Her removal would significantly cripple the Moon Kingdom and suit my endeavors.  I want her eliminated."

Endymion turned to Beryl.  "What?  I..."

"By you, dear Endymion.  Personally."

"Me?!"  Endymion paled.  "But..."

"Oh, don't but me.  You know perfectly well you're like a trained assassin."  Beryl almost giggled.  "You've gone through military training for years.  I've seen that fine body slicing through some of my men on the field when trying to hold back our attacks on your field.  Of course, that was when you were simply prince and not crown prince of your own kingdom…but I don't think you've lost the talent for killing, have you, Endymion?"

Endymion felt weak.  He sank to the chaise opposite Beryl and stared at her, fire in his cold blue eyes.  He would make a valiant attempt to keep his dignity, but he knew Beryl would squash it anyway.  "I would do no such thing.  I have nothing against the royal Lunarian family."

"Endymion, you know as well as I do that you'd love to crush one of them between your fingers for the defeat of your grandfather's kingdom," Beryl said, hitting what she knew was a soft spot on Endymion.  "The same defeat that caused the death of your dear father.  You do remember, don't you?  The battle of Thebes..."

Endymion clenched his fist, the flames in his eyes roaring.  "I remember," he said through clenched teeth.

"Yes, I thought you would.  So wouldn't you like a little revenge?  Take one of theirs as they took one of yours?"

Endymion averted his eyes.  A little flame starting jumping in his heart.  _Think about it...would it not be right?_

"You have yet to avenge that death, Endymion."

Endymion turned down to the floor.  He _knew_ he had yet to avenge the death of his father.  By all chivalrous code, it was what he was supposed to do; and yet he hadn't.  He wasn't quite sure _who_ was the cause, but it was true that the moon king was indirectly the cause of the death of his father.

But why take the youngest princess' life?

He immediately knew the answer.  He didn't want the king to die.  Endymion wanted the king to feel the same agony of being without a member of his family he as felt now.  His whole family should die…as Endymion's had.  Endymion's heart crumbled into a bitter muscle, the rate of his heartbeat speeding as his anger mounted.  Part of it was angry at Beryl for reminding him of the fact that as of yet he had failed to get even for his father's death.

"I will provide protection for your kingdom for an additional six months…if you do this one little thing for me, Endymion."  Beryl smirked.  "I have the papers already drawn up and everything."

This, too, grabbed Endymion's attention.  Beryl knew that the only kingdom that posed a real threat to Elysian at this time was her own.  That meant that for six months—six blissful months—he would not have to worry about invasions from the north…invasions that he would not be able to hold off.

He turned back to Beryl, the fire in his eyes replaced by stinging ice.  He was still angry, but the offer was too good to be passed up…even if it did involve cold murder by his own hands.  He sighed heavily.

"I have no choice and you know it," he said, glaring at Beryl.  

She smiled seductively.  "There's to be a wedding at their palace in a few weeks," she said.  "That night is when they'll be least suspecting a murder.  Do it then.  Don't fail me, Endymion, or you'll have some problems."


	3. The Wedding

**The Wedding**

***

"I can't believe that I'm getting _married_—_today!!_"  Diana could not contain her happiness, and she began to jump up and down on her stool.

"Diana, be still!" Trivia yelled, kneeling down to fix a section of Diana's dress.  She had on the bridesmaid's dress her sister had selected, in a soft, pretty shade of light blue, with a short iridescent train attached to the west.  The dress itself fit Trivia's slender form nicely.  Added to her hair were some pale blue pearls, pulling her wavy aquamarine hair up, and she had a light blue ribbon matching her dress tied about her neck, the long ribbons trailing behind her.

Serenity reached up to adjust her sister's hair and try to place the veil down over her head.  She had on a dress in a deeper blue, a sapphire that matched her eyes.  The top and bottom layers of the skirt were sapphire blue, with the middle being a very pale blue.  Like her sister, she also had a ribbon matching her dress tied about her neck, with the tails behind her.  Instead of doing her hair in her usual style, which her father had nicknamed "comet-tails" and her sisters "bunny ears"—two round buns over two long ponytails—she only had the buns, and they were decorated with white pearls, one also in each ear as an earring.

She was elegantly beautiful.  Diana sighed, fraught with worry again.

Serenity looked sadly at her worried sister's face.  She knew very well the reason she was not invited to many things, not included in the making of others.  She hated this fear that her friends had of her spoiling and ruining things…but she could not help the way she was born.

"Oh, but Princess Serenity!  You look so lovely."

Serenity cringed when she heard the words of the maidservant.  A little gasp escaped Diana's lips, but she merely turned her eyes back to where Trivia was kneeling to get to her hem.

"And of course, you look very pretty as well, Princess Diana.  But I couldn't help but notice Serenity when I walked in the door."  The maidservant went chattering on as she walked to assist the two young women in adjusting Diana's dress.  "She is _so_ beautiful.  Ay, I wonder how _she_ should look on her wedding day!"

"Shut up," Diana snapped.

Serenity already felt horrible – and the wedding hadn't even started yet.

***

"Now, when you all walk in…I mean, you've all been to the rehearsal dinner, haven't you?" asked the wedding coordinator, nodding at the group of girls behind her.  "Yes, you have.  Little Juventas walks out first, of course, then comes Lady Juno, Lady Lucina, and Princess Trivia, then finally King Hyperion and Princess Diana with Princess Serenity holding her train.  Do you all have that?"

"Have it," said Trivia, nodding.  "We should remain four steps behind each other and all that.  I've been married before, I know!"

"Yes.  Anyway.  Let's continue—oh!"  The coordinator threw her hands up.  "That's the bells; come on, it's time to go, ladies!"

The flower girl, Juventas, took her place at the beginning of the line and began to walk out onto the aisle.  Serenity heard the oohs and aahs of the wedding guests as she strolled down the aisle, strewing flowers about the place.

Each of the young women in their turn walked from the back room through the flowering pagoda, out to where the ushers, best man, and groom waited for them.  Finally, Serenity felt a slight tug on the train of Diana's dress and she began to follow her out of the door, her father on her arm, ready to give her away.

A collective sigh arose from the audience, and Diana blushed happily, a smile tempering her lips.  Were they sighing from the beauty of the bride?  She'd heard that as an old adage, and had experienced the truthfulness of it at many weddings before, including Trivia's.

"She is breathtaking, just breathtaking," she heard an elderly woman whisper loudly to her friend.  Diana's smile spread wider across her face as she heard the compliment.

But her smile faded away when she heard the reply.  "Yes, she looks as if she should be the bride herself, doesn't she?"

"Yes, yes, she does.  She is simply lovely," agreed the first woman.

Princess Serenity could hear the conversation, as well as other murmurs about her beauty – all centering around herself, and not her sister, who was supposed to be the star on this special day.  She lowered her head and hunched over, striving not to be seen, and trying to ignore the stiffening of her sister's back that signaled her fury.

***

"Princess Diana.  Congratulations.  May you live a happy life along with your new husband."  The wedding guests smiled warmly at the newlywed princess, whose face was flushed light pink.

"Thank you so much," Diana said, shaking her head lightly so her amber-white hair floated lightly around her face.  She could hear it coming, she could just hear it coming...

"And Princess Serenity-sama!  What a beauty!  The girl is idyllically lovely, breathakingly stunning," the visitor continued, staring at Serenity.  The young princess was standing some few feet away, blushing heavily as three young men vyed for her attention and her next dance.  The young woman had been on her feet since the reception started, and the men conceded to dance with her sister Diana only after they had afforded a dance with her.  She'd won more kisses than the bride, as the tradition on the Moon Kingdom was to kiss the bride on the cheek.

Diana turned to her sister, a contemptuous look on her face, and slunk away from the praising guests.  She wandered over to the food table, where the palace's thirteen chefs had painstakingly prepared and laid out a meal fit for deities, and gently pulled on her new husband's shoulder.

"Diana, my love?  Is there something you wanted?"  Somnus was the sweetest man alive, and he was always ready to oblige to what his new wife wanted.  He'd go to the earth and back for her.

"Could you please get me a small, weak drink?  Please?"

Somnus frowned.  It was common superstition on the Moon that the bride should have only a glass of champagne while eating her dinner, to produce good dreams and fertility for her.  Anymore than that, and she was cursed with sterility and nightmares on her wedding night.  Somnus wasn't a superstitious man, but he knew that King Hyperion would not be happy knowing his daughter had had more than the allotment for brides – the king was extremely superstitious.

However, the distress in his new wife's eyes was enough to make him go hand-pick a plantation of grapes to make her the finest wine in the history of the universe.  Somnus smiled faintly and nodded.  "Wait just a minute."

In a few moments he was back with a flute of red sherry, a warning look on his face.  "Don't tell your father and don't leave with the wine in your hand," he said.

Diana said nothing, merely taking a sip of the wine flute.  The alcoholic beverage burned her throat.  Not being a big drinker – she boasted that she could outdo her sisters, but in reality she didn't drink often besides the weak wine the family dined with – the strong sherry made her feel a little lightheaded.  She continued to down the drink.

"Princess?"  She whirled at the voice, wobbling a little unsteadily.

The possessor of the voice arched an eyebrow over his eye – wondrously blue eyes, the color of the shimmering oceans that lay on Earth below.  Diana was impressed.  Quickly she took in the rest of the man's features – silky black hair that lay nicely against his head; muscular arms beneath the tuxedo jacket that he wore; a stature that bested even her own – even her husband faced her eye-to-eye.  His expression was cynical.

"Isn't there some kind of superstition that says you've had enough alcohol for the night?" he asked.

"How dare you," she said, but she hardly sounded offended.  The prince chuckled slightly.

"May I have this dance, your highness?"  His bow swept low.

Diana nodded and the man took her hand, sweeping her onto the dance floor.

"So I assume since you came to dance with the bride, you must have already danced with the maid-of-honor," she said bitterly.

The man raised his eyebrow in that irresistably sexy look again.  "No," he said.  "Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?"

"Supposedly," Diana said, surprised.  "But my sister attracts more attention than me, even on my wedding night.  Are you sure you haven't danced with her?"

"Your sister is the famed Serenity?"

Diana cringed upon hearing the epithet he used, but nodded.  "Yes, that is she," she answered.  "Golden-blonde hair, blue eyes?  She looks much like me."

He laughed at that admission.  "Except prettier."

"Most say that."  Diana sighed.  "She hasn't sat herself down all night, and has been dancing with all the guests.  Sometimes I wonder if I've gotten married, or she has."

"I arrived a little late, and missed the hype.  Where is she?"  If this woman, obviously too blinded by jealousy to express any concern for his interest in her sister, could point the princess out to him, he'd be greatly indebted to her and she wouldn't even know it.  Although he knew he couldn't ask for her room location from her – he'd decided to do his deed later that night, when the palace slept – he'd at least know what to look for upon locating the bedroom of the princess.

"Over there – you won't be able to see her.  She's shrouded by the unenlightened masses...unenlightened by the fact that _I_ am the married one!"  Diana pointed an accusing finger in the general direction of her sister's location, and the young man discovered she was right.  He couldn't see the youngest moon princess for the crowd of younger men requesting a dance with her.

He sighed heavily.  Looked like he'd be going into this job blind.

*****

"It's not _fair_!" Diana sniffled, stomping around the room in her wedding dress.  Princess Serenity could hear the _swish-swish_ as she rounded the bridal bed she had assisted the bridesmaids in strewing before with sweet-smelling flower petals and soothing, relaxing oils.  Diana and her new husband were supposed to be reveling in it, not Somnus watching while Diana went stomping around it with unhappy tears spilling from her eyes.

"She always steals the limelight," Princess Diana continued, the tears still flowing.  "I don't always ask to be center stage…just for one night I wanted to be the most beautiful, the adored one, the one everyone complimented with pretty talk.  Can I even have _that_?!"  Another sob escaped her lips, accompanied by fresh tears.

"Diana, darling," Serenity heard Somnus say in considerably lower tones.  "She didn't steal any limelight from you.  Assuredly she was lovely.  But you were the bride."

"Everyone _knew_ that," Diana sobbed, and Serenity heard her flounce down on the bed.  "But no one _acknowledged_ it.  They were too busy tickling her ears with their pretty words!"

Serenity felt a tear slide down her own cheek.  She felt absolutely horrible for ruining her older sister's special day.  She couldn't help it, and yet she was blamed.  Serenity struggled to hold in her own sniffles.

"Oh, Diana…"  She heard Somnus walk around the bed and take his place next to Diana, sitting down.  "She didn't take anything from you, not purposely, and _not_ in my eyes.  If I thought Serenity were more beautiful than you, I would have married her.  But I didn't.  I chose you."

Serenity heard a halting in Diana's sobs.

"Come here, Diana," she heard Somnus say in a soothing, comforting voice that could not be argued with.  She heard Diana shift position, then a blissful silence ensued.

Serenity pulled the door closed softly and leaned against the wall opposite Diana and Somnus' room, tears running down her own face.  Diana did not know how lucky she was.  Although she sobbed that Serenity had taken her limelight, she had a husband to comfort her, someone to stand by her side, talk to her, and be a friend to her.  Serenity could have been the most beautiful mortal in all the world, and yet she was single, mateless, alone.  And she had never felt lonelier in her entire life.  She had no one to comfort her for her inadvertant ruin of her sister's wedding, only loneliness to confront her.

Covering her face with her hands to prevent her own sobs from becoming any louder, she ran off to her room, her footsteps echoing darkly in the empty hallway.

*****

"Kind sir?"

The manservant turned to look at the soft voice behind him and stared at the strapping blue-eyed man standing there.  "Oh, sir.  I didn't know anyone was still awake in all the palace.  You gave me a fright, sir."

"Terribly sorry," the blue-eyed man replied, contrite.  "I was asking, sir, if you would be able to tell me where the youngest moon princess's room is located."

The manservant cocked an eyebrow at the young man.  "And why would you need her room's location, sir?"

"I…"  Prince Endymion stared to the ceiling to think of a reason.  Suddenly, he got one, and made his eyes dreamy-looking.  "She is so beautiful.  I only wish to stand by her window and serenade her through the night to win her favor."

"Oh…"  The manservant replied knowingly, as if he had been through it all in his younger years.  "I will tell you where the princess's window is, sir, but I'm afraid I can't tell you where the entrance is from the palace.  Just too risky."

Endymion smiled.  This was fine.  Now it would be much harder to leave telltale marks on the way to her room.  He would be outside – hopefully with the help of a trusted companion.

"It's the window overlooking the south gardens, in the direction the earth rises at night," the servant continued.  "It's not hard to miss, since it's the biggest window on that side of the palace.  But it's on the third floor, so you may have a time reaching it."

"I won't have much trouble," Endymion said.  "One more favor from you, sir."

"Yes, sir?"

Endymion touched a finger to the man's forehead.  It glowed a bright golden color, and the servant's eyes widened for a split second before they dimmed.  He dropped to the floor, unconscious.

"Forget I ever asked you anything."

**

~Your highness, I am not sure that this is such a good idea.~

Normally Prince Endymion was unnerved at the unnatural sound coming from the mouth of the winged horse, but today he strove hard to keep his nerves up.  Nevertheless, he almost jumped out of his skin upon hearing the voice.

"Helios," he said, sighing.  "You still startle me when you do that."

~You forget I can communicate through this pegasus,~ the voice came again.  It was the spirit of Elysian's priest, Helios, speaking through the winged white horse that Endymion had just mounted.

"Yes – and if it isn't a good idea, there is nothing I am able to do about it," Endymion replied.  "You heard Beryl's offer.  Six months of no attacks?  You know that her anger will grow worse against Elysian and I if I don't do this deed, however dirty it may be."

~Besides, you want to protect your honor by avenging your father.~

Endymion fell silent to that accusation.  Of course Helios knew that.  Everyone knew it, especially the priest, who, to a certain extent, could read sensations in Endymion's heart.  
Rather than respond, Endymion lightly kneed the pegasus in its flanks, and it soared upwards, towards the third-story window overlooking the south gardens.  In minutes he was hovering outside of the window of the youngest moon princess's bedroom.

Endymion placed his hands on the window pane and concentrated some of his life energy into it – very gently, but strong enough to make an impact.  This power of psychometry was something that Endymion had possessed since birth.  It was passed down his family line.  If he were female, it might have been stronger in him…perhaps even as strong as the legendary warriors the Sailor Senshi, who had been rumored about for centuries.  But he was not, and so his power was very limited.  However, it was strong enough to open the pane with little difficulty.

"If anything happens, you escape, Pegasus," Endymion ordered the white horse in a whisper.  The pegasus almost seemed to nod in agreement, and Endymion knew that was Helios' spirit infused in the almost-sentient creature.  Assured, he climbed through the rather large window, blew through the white curtains in the princess's room, and was finally confronted with the large bed the youngest of the moon princesses slept in.

A tiny frown creased the corners of his mouth.  He knew that the princess lay in the bed – he could see her form – but he couldn't see her features.  _Perhaps that is best_, he thought grimly.  _This way I won't be able to see her innocent face as she…_

Shaking the thought from his mind, Endymion crept closer to the bed, drawing his sword with the utmost of finesse.  It didn't make a single sound.  On silent feet he slid towards the bed, until he was at the bedside of the princess.  Taking a deep breath, he lifted the sword to hover above the princess's neck.

The young princess sighed in her sleep, stirred, and rolled over, her countenance facing Endymion so he could see it clearly.

Endymion dropped his sword.  Fortunately, the hilt was the heaviest part, and it clattered downwards on the floor, bringing the sharp blade with it and away from the princess's neck.

Endymion hardly heard the sound.  He was stunned.

Princess Serenity was _gorgeous_.  
_Gorgeous_ wasn't a strong enough word for the tender features that elicited such reverent shock from the usually level-headed prince.  He was brought to his knees by the young woman's beauty.  Even the distraught expression she wore in sleep did nothing to lessen her beauty.  Endymion knelt by the bed and braced himself against it, staring into the face of the lovely young princess.

~Prince Endymion?~ he heard in his mind.  Although Helios was only a voice, he was still in the pegasus, and he couldn't see what was going on inside the window.  ~Are you quite all right in there?~

"She's simply _stunning_," Endymion breathed.

"Diana…Diana…I'm sorry…" she moaned in her sleep.  She tossed wildly; Endymion watched her, fascinated.  As she turned back Endymion's way, her head stayed.  A silver tear rolled from under her lavender eyelids to her rosy cheeks.  As if in rapture, Endymion lifted a hand and gently stroked away the tear, not even realizing what he was doing.

The pegasus with Helios in it had craned its neck to stare through the window.  ~No, you fool!  You'll wake her!  What the hell are you doing?!~

Endymion was oblivious.  His hand continued its stroke to her golden-blond hair, which spilled over the white sheets in such splendor.  What luxurious texture!  It felt like the softest of silks, the finest of satins.

~Endymion!  Stop it right now, you fool!~

He wondered what color her eyes were.  Silently he wished she would open them.

And as if a miracle, she did.

It felt like an eternity.  And yet Endymion did not care.  He could stare into those luminous azure depths for a thousand lifetimes and still be happy.  They were beautiful, deep, and he ached to reach out and touch the sateen skin again, to draw her lovely body into his arms, to press those rose petal lips against his own.

~_Endymion!_~

The call from Helios shattered the moment, and Endymion shook himself out of his stupor.  What the hell had he done?!  She was awake!!

Quickly Endymion reached a hand to the girl's forehead.  His finger glowed a gentle golden again, and he watched as her heavy lids closed over her once shocked and widened, now drowsy eyes.  In mere moments, she had laid back against her pillows and was sound asleep as if nothing had happened.

He looked down at his sword bitterly.  There was no way he could kill this lovely creature.  Remorseful for even thinking of harming her, he picked up his sword and stood.

~Endymion.~

"All right," he whispered, and knew Helios could hear him.  Before he went too far, he bent over the bed and pressed his lips to the young moon princess's, kissing her softly.

Then he jumped through the window to his pegasus and flew away.


	4. The Oracle

**The Oracle**

***

Endymion stared at the floor before him as he listened to Helios berate him.

"You fool man...she woke while you were sitting there, going google-eyed over her.  Do you know what could have happened to you if you had been found?  Making all that noise as if it were nothing.  What were you thinking?"

"I..." Endymion faltered.  "I couldn't help it, Helios.  She was so lovely...I lost my senses."

Helios looked around self-consciously.  If Queen Beryl were to hear Endymion say that, she would go wild with jealousy.  It was no secret that Beryl had her eyes on Endymion, lusting after him and wanting him to marry her and rule alongside her in her universal kingdom.  She had at least enough tact not to let that out loud, but she was definitely after him.

"You most certainly did," he said, lowering his voice.

"I absolutely...fell in love at first sight," said Endymion, smiling a bit weirdly.  Helios wondered if it was the idea in his head or the glass of wine he had downed in a mixture of elation and misery.  "I have never seen a woman who looks like that before."  His face saddened.  "I couldn't kill her, Helios."

"I understand," Helios said, reclining against the sofa.  "What are you going to do now?  You promised Beryl that you'd kill that Moon Princess.  She's still alive."

"I wish there were some way that I could bring her here...in secret," Endymion said, sighing gently.  "Some way that Beryl wouldn't be able to find out."

Helios opened his mouth, getting ready to say that Endymion shouldn't indulge in wishful thinking when he had to think of a way to abate Beryl's anger.  Then he remembered the Moon King's dilemma – he'd heard about it from one of his oracle friends on the moon – and an idea sparked in his mind, making his sunset-colored eyes light up.  "Perhaps there is a way to do that, Endymion," he said, smiling devilishly.

*****

"Please tell me you're not really going to do this."

King Hyperion turned to his wife and nodded.  "What makes you say that?"

"Hyperion..."  Queen Serenity fiddled with the lace collar of her dress.  "I still say you should wait.  Serenity is very beautiful.  She will eventually catch the fancy of someone.  Just wait."

"How long shall I wait, Serenity?" Hyperion said, turning fully around to face his wife head-on.  "Until I'm old and gray?  Until Serenity is too old to bear children?  I shouldn't.  I'm going to resolve this, once and for all."

"But...an oracle?"  Queen Serenity raised an eyebrow.  "Isn't that a bit extreme?"

Hyperion sighed.  He had made the decision to go see the Delphic oracle about his youngest daughter's fate in marriage.  Serenity had stayed in bed all day yesterday, and Hyperion just knew that it was because of jealousy for her sisters and sadness because of her own loneliness.  He couldn't bear to see his youngest and favorite daughter – his pride and joy – continue on this way.  So he had resolved to see the oracle in order to determine how long Serenity would be mateless.

"I don't think so," Hyperion said, turning away from his wife again and affixing his cape to the rear of his traveling uniform.  "I can't bear to see Serenity like this anymore.  Can you?"

"Of course not.  I love Serenity just as much as you do."

"So then you agree that I should see this oracle to ensure her happiness for the future, right?"

Queen Serenity sighed heavily.  "Do as you wish."

*****

The oracle's temple was not a very busy place that day.  The moon's kingdom was so prosperous that few felt a biting need to go talk to an oracle; also, it was also a workday, which was precisely why King Hyperion decided to travel that day.  He didn't want any of his subjects recognizing him and inquiring as to his problem.

The oracle, of couse, already knew.  He would not be a true oracle if he did not.  The man was rumored to have great knowledge and wisdom.  Despite that, Apollo the oracle was an exceptionally handsome young man.  He was tall and his skin was bronzed by the sun.  His muscles rippled most enticingly, and he had a strong appearance about him.  Apollo was greatly loved in his community at Delphi, perhaps loved a little too much.  He was a bit of a playboy and was rumored to have had several trysts with the people of the community, maidens and men alike.

Apollo smiled at the king, his strong jaw filled with gleaming white teeth. "King Hyperion.  I've been expecting you."

Hyperion forgot to not be surprised, and his eyes widened in shock.

"Come in my inner room.  I know that you don't want to be recognized," Apollo said, leading the king into the inner room of the temple.  The older man hesitantly followed the oracle.  He'd never been to see Apollo himself – he'd sent servants to inquire of him, but this matter was too personal to send anyone else.  He'd desired to come himself.  However, he was a little uneasy with the extremely powerful man.

"Now, you have a problem, your grace, that you wish me to help you with," Apollo stated, still smiling.  The smile seemed derisive, but Hyperion brushed that thought away.  "Tell me more about this problem."

"You have seen my daughter, Serenity, have you not?" asked Hyperion.

"Of course," said Apollo.  His smile became warmer, and Hyperion was suddenly even more uneasy around the oracle, should he come into contact with his youngest daughter with his casanova ways.  "She is exceptionally beautiful, your highness.  I trust she is not the one giving you problems?"

_The bastard knows,_ Hyperion thought.  _He's an oracle for the gods' freaking sakes._  "Not intentionally.  She's exceptionally beautiful, but that is the problem.  Her beauty wins her only passing looks and lusts from men.  No one loves her, and no one wants to marry her.  She is seventeen now, and I fear that she may become a spinster."  Hyperion sighed.  "She's also not very happy.  Her sister just got married, you know, and her other sister is already married as well.  It doesn't sit well with her that she's already seventeen and not even courting as her sisters were at the age.

"So what should I do about finding her a marriage mate?  Or is she doomed to singularity?"

The oracle sat silently for a moment, rubbing his clean-shaven chin.  "Hmmm," he said, forcing himself to keep a straight face despite the smile that struggled to pop up.  "I have a solution, your highness, from the highest decree of the gods.  They sent me a vision about this very thing.  However, you are not going to like it."

"Anything is better than my daughter living alone her entire life."

"You must perform this task exactly as I say.  Otherwise the gods' eternal punishment shall be laid upon you and your family."

"I swear upon my life and the prosperity of my kingdom that I will do exactly as the gods say!"

_Oh boy_, Apollo thought, _he's really in for it now_.  "You will dress your daughter in her deepest mourning robes, all ornately black and hung with no jewels.  Her hair will be tied in that of a mourning woman's style.  Your entire household shall be dressed for mourning."

"Why are we mourning?"

"You will take Princess Serenity to the summit of a rocky hill, where you shall sit her.  In that place a terrible...serpent-god...lives.  Yes, a _winged_ serpent-god.  This serpent-god is even more powerful than the gods themselves, and he desires a wife.  Serenity has been selected to become his wife.  You will leave your daughter alone on the summit of the hill which I shall give you directions to, and she will become the winged serpent's bride."

King Hyperion's eyes widened.  "No!  I can't do that!"

"But you must, King Hyperion.  You have sworn your life on it.  Not only have you sworn your own life, but you have also sworn the prosperity of your kingdom.  The gods will be all too happy to hold you to that promise."

Apollo sounded gleeful himself, and the king felt as if he wanted to beat the man's head in with a truncheon.  But indeed, the beautiful man was right.  If he went back on his word now, some of the baser gods would take sadistic pleasure in ruining his life and his kingdom.  He sighed heavily, and replied, "I will do as the gods say.  Give me one week.  By the evening exactly one week from now, my daughter will be ready to become the bride of the winged serpent-god."

Apollo could not help having a little smile spring to his face from the man's apparent misery, and was only glad that the king was turned away from him, hands in face.  He wasn't cruel or unjust, and he didn't want to see his king suffer.  But he knew something that the king did not, and he couldn't help wondering what the king's reaction would be if he knew what the oracle was hiding from him.

"Thank you, Apollo," the king said, bowing slightly to the oracle.  "I will do the bidding of the gods."

_Helios_, Apollo thought to himself as the king left his inner chamber, _I no longer owe you anything_.

*****

"Daddy!  Daddy, you're back!"

Hyperion struggled to smile when he saw his daughter running towards him, but the sheer sight of the blindingly lovely young woman made him want to weep.  She threw her arms around her father and hugged him tightly, and a tear did slip down his face.  To never be able to hold his dear daughter in his arms again...

He'd risk the universe for his precious daughter.  But even if he did, he still might lose her.  As he'd sworn on the prosperity of his kingdom, Serenity was one of the heirs, and if he didn't do what the gods said, they might take her from him anyway.

"Daddy?  Are you...crying?"  Serenity's face fell fast.  "What's the matter?  Where did you go?"

"Serenity, please contact your sisters and tell them to get here as quickly as possible.  There's something very important that I must tell you all, and I only want to tell it once."

***

"Oh, Hyperion, you foolish man!"  Queen Serenity threw her hands in the air, then brought them back over her face.  "I warned you not to go!"

"No, don't say that, mother," Princess Serenity said, laying a hand on her grieving mother's arm.  "This is the gods' will.  They would have found some way to communicate it to Daddy anyway."

"But he swore!" said Diana.  "Why did he swear he would do it?"  She was shaking with anger and sadness, and her eyes were wet with unshed tears.

"The gods would have punished him anyway for not doing their bidding," Serenity reasoned.

"There is nothing we can do about this," said Trivia.  She folded her arms.  "The gods had already decreed that Serenity would be the wife of the serpent-god and would go to him.  Whether or not Daddy had chosen this week to go to the oracle's temple, they still would have their decree, and may have given it to Daddy in a dream or so."

"We have no choice but to do as they say," Diana said, dejected.  "But why Serenity?  Why the youngest?  Why didn't the gods pick me, or Trivia?"

"Your spirit is admirable, my sister," Serenity said, with a bright smile on her face.  "But you're already married, and so is Trivia.  The only logical choice left was me.  Don't worry.  I'll be all right, as far as this goes."  She smiled at each of her sisters, her mother, and finally her father, trying to keep the watery, unstable smile upon her countenance so as not to alert her family as to how frightened she really was.  "Let us do this quickly."

***

The climb to the summit of the hill a week later was a loud and mournful one.  The procession of people was long and reached far out – the subjects of Hyperion's kingdom lamented over the fate their young Moon Princess was subjected to, weeping and wailing that such a beautiful young princess should go through such a terrible experience.

However, Serenity's own family took their grief in dignified silence.  Even Diana, who was outraged at the notion, took her anger in silence, tears running down her cheeks as she solemnly followed her family to the top of the hill.  Trivia, who was always better at expressing her feelings, was sobbing softly into her husband's chest.  Orcas was patting her on the back, whispering gently into her ear.  Queen Serenity was crying softly, and King Hyperion was stony-faced, shocked out of any kind of concrete expression.

The one who should have been the most bereaved was the calmest and most rational person on the whole trek.  Princess Serenity was dressed from head to toe in black; she even wore a black veil over her face as she was carried up the hill on a short, light pagoda.  Trying to keep a good countenance for her family so as not to worry them, Serenity had smiles and reassurances for all those present with their family.

"It is a good thing, sisters," she said to Trivia and Diana, smiling.  "My end will come and I will attract no more jealousy from anyone.  I can lay in peace and no one will be troubled with my existence."

Diana and Trivia exchanged glances, both feeling the same way – guilty.  Jealousy for their younger sister was something they hadn't been strangers to.

When the procession was almost up the hill, King Hyperion stopped and faced the crowds following the family.  "Loyal subjects," he said, his voice as stony as his expression, "I request that you allow my family and I to take the summit alone."

A collective affirmative murmur arose from the crowd, and they began to retreat a little ways down the hill.  Somnus and Orcas, Serenity's sisters' husbands, nodded at each other.  Each gave their wife a reassuring squeeze, then continued down the hill with the crowds of people.

Serenity watched the interchange sadly.  _I wish I had someone to care for me like that,_, she thought.  _Instead, I get the horrble winged serpent-god!_

The two carrying Serenity's pagoda set it down on the very top and bowed to the royal family, then proceeded down the hill.

Immediately after their departure, Queen Serenity collapsed upon her daughter, sobbing and squeezing her tight.  "Serenity!" she yelled.  "I am sorry!  It is all my fault!  The punishment for my greed is causing your suffering!"

"Mother!" Diana said, rushing to her mother and prying her from Serenity's body.  "Come to your senses!  You don't know what you're saying.  None of this is your fault!  You didn't have anything to do with it."

Queen Serenity looked dubious, but she kept quiet.  She did, however, keep her tearful face focused on Serenity.

"Goodbye, mother," Serenity said.  Her smile became a bit weaker – all her insides were screaming at her to lose it, to cut the façade, to burst into a fit of tears and worry as everyone else.  But she could not.  She had to be strong for her family, so they wouldn't take back their promise and bring travesty upon their land.

Trivia went to her younger sister and hugged her tightly, crying softly.  Serenity clutched her to her chest and stroked the aqua mane that grew down Trivia's back.  "Don't cry now, Trivia," she said.  "Don't cry for me now.  Cry only because I happened to come looking like this, so as to arise everyone's jealousy!  I'm sorry only for that."

Diana frowned as Serenity said that.  "Fool girl," she said.  "Don't be sorry for your beauty!  You have a special gift...a special beauty."  She, too, leaned over Serenity, hugging her as she cried.

"Goodbye, dear sisters."

King Hyperion was the last to bid his farewells to his daughter.  He crouched in front of her, staring her straight in her crystal blue eyes.  Suddenly, he clasped her closer, a loud sob escaping his mouth.

"I'm sorry – Serenity," he choked.  "I never meant – for this to happen.  I just wanted you to – to be happy..."

"Daddy," Serenity said softly, "it's not your fault."

"I feel like it is," King Hyperion said.  He gently kissed his youngest daughter on her forehead, then hugged her once more.

"Goodbye, Daddy," Serenity said.  The king could hold back tears no longer.  As he stood among the rest of his family, they were running fown his regal cheeks towards his sharply pointed chin.

The family assembled themselves, took one last look at the youngest member of their family, then began down the hill, all shedding tears for the loss of Serenity.

It was only then that Serenity could comfort herself in her own tears.


	5. The Palace

**The Palace**

***

"Ah.  I knew I could trust my man to do my bidding."  A sly smile slipped across Beryl's lips as she ran her tongue over them to catch the little droplets of wine that had escaped her mouth.  "The prince has done me a great favor in ridding me of the girl.  Now I can live in peace from all those stupid rumors about the little dolt's beauty.  Imagine – a beauty to surpass my own!"  Beryl laughed loudly.

"How do you know that the princess is dead, my liege?" asked one of Beryl's right-hand servants.  The servant was in actually quite an elevated position – he was a general of Beryl's military force.  However, he hadn't seen any action in Beryl's army yet, although he had served in another force and had gained experience.

"Because," Beryl said, turning to face the effeminate officer.  This particular officer had narrow green eyes, wildly curly pale blond hair, and a slim face and figure that almost alluded to feminism.  But his gait and his arrogance were both profoundly male.  "The Lunarians circle rumors like a vulture circles prey.  They are already asserting that a winged serpent-god of some sort, even more powerful than the gods that they worship, has spirited the Moon Princess away to become his wife."

"How preposterous."  Another officer, a tall, study, well-muscled man with smokey grey eyes and white-blond hair, crossed his arms and stared at the queen lounging on her bed.

"Who cares how preposterous it is?" Beryl said airily.  "I don't care what kind of stories those crazy Lunarians make up.  As long as that Moon Princess is out of my hair and my plans, it doesn't matter to me what they think."

*****

Princess Serenity buried her face in her hands, trying to stay the wave of sobs that had overtaken her.  She couldn't believe how much she was crying, and how hard.  Her entire body was shaking from her sobs, but she couldn't stop herself.  She missed her family terribly already, and she was terrified of what might happen to her next.

She tried to get her mind on a prayer.  _To Hebe, goddess of youth, and Hera, goddess of women and marriage_, she prayed, _and to Selene, goddess of the moon, namesake and protectress, please, grant me the strength to go through this!_

~Princess Serenity.~

Serenity shrieked and jumped about three feet in the air.  When she landed, she scrambled behind the rock she had been sitting on, peeking out with only her frightened blue eyes.  But her fears eased and her eyes widened when she beheld the one who addressed her.

It was no horrible-looking winged serpent.  Instead, it was a magnificent white horse.  It was obvious this was no ordinary horse.  A single golden horn, glowing in bright illuminacy, extended from the center of the horse's head.  The horse had a sky-blue mane and tail, silver hooves, and deep crimson eyes, as well as a pair of magnificent white wings extending from below his haunches.

"A pegasus," Serenity whispered.

~Yes, a pegasus,~ the pegasus answered.  Serenity realized that the pegasus' words were not really spoken, but rather formed pictures and conveyed thoughts inside her head.  _Must be magic, or the work of the gods_, she reasoned.

~My name is Helios,~ he continued.  ~I've come to take you to a wonderful place, away from this rocky hill and the serpent that threatens you.  But you must trust me if you want to get away from here.  Do you trust me, Serenity?~

Serenity stared back at the pegasus, her head cocked to the side.  Any foul man could be standing behind the pegasus, mocking as if he were talking when really a man was waiting to jump out and ravish her.  But it was hard not to trust anything that beautiful, and Serenity found herself led by the pegasus' appearance.

"I trust you," she said softly, and slowly stood from behind the stone.  She felt dowdy, dressed in the heavy and dark mourning robes.  Serenity stared at her feet, embarrassed.

The pegasus slowly ambled towards the Moon Princess so as not to startle her, then motioned towards her with his head.  ~Climb on my back and I'll take you to where I'm going,~ he said.  Something in his "voice" was reassuring, calming, and Serenity slowly moved towards Helios and threw one of her legs over his back as he bent to allow her safe mounting.  He stood up slowly, and Serenity felt herself jolt into place, sitting up straight.

~Put your arms around my neck,~ Helios said.  ~I ride pretty fast, and I wouldn't want you to fall off!~

Serenity obeyed.

~Here we go.~

The pegasus soared into the air, taking off with such speed that Serenity _did_ almost fall from his back.  She squeezed her eyes shut to abate her fear, tightened her grip, and was able to hold on, as the pegasus fluttered his wings and rose higher, higher, towards the clouds and the glowing sun above.

~Princess, open your eyes!  The countryside is beautiful.~

Serenity opened one eye.  The pegasus had been right – so right.  The be flying in the air, the mountains and seas far beneath her – to see the wildlife roaming about beneath her – it was breathtaking for any mortal.  Serenity popped both of eyes open to watch the splendor of the natural world appear below her.

By and by they came to more sparse areas, the cold northerly areas, and Serenity began to wonder where they were going.  It seemed almost like the ends of the planet...

"Helios, where are we going?"

~To a faraway world, Serenity.  Just trust me...~

She nodded her head, and felt her eyes drooping, as they soared over meadow and glen.  The pegasus wings' steady flapping lulled her, and it seemed as if the pegasus himself exuded an air that contributed to her sleepiness.

She couldn't help dozing a little, and when she finally came back to full consciousness, they were in a strange place – stranger than the countryside they had been flying over before.  It was different from anything she had ever seen in her life, and eyes opened in wonder as she saw the scene spread before her.

"It's breathtaking," she said.  "Where are we, Helios?"

~I can't tell you that, dear princess,~ he said, and there was a smile in his "voice" – much more possible than injecting a smile into an actual voice, because the images conveyed actual amusement at her question.  ~But I assure you – you'll like it here.~

Serenity couldn't help but believe him. They fluttered on a bit farther.  Finally – rather abruptly, so that Serenity almost jerked from the winged horses' back – he stayed his wingspan.

~I apologize for the abrupt stop, your majesty,~ he said, ~but I was about to overpass our destination.~

He dove in for the ground, and landed in the middle of a large, lush green clearing.  The grass cushioned her feet – it was so soft!  She could feel the bed-like flora through her thin shoes, and longed to take them off and wander through the grass.  Scattered around the meadow were poppies...famed for their sleep-inducing effects.

Serenity tried to stay awake and explore the meadow a little – assured of her safety by the presence of the magical pegasus – but the poppies' effects and the events of her trying day caught up with her, and she eventually fell into a dreamless sleep in the luxurious grass beneath her.

**

"Mmm..."

Serenity's eyes opened slowly, anticipating the bright light that would assail her eyes.  But the light never came.  When her eyes were fully open, she realized that the sun was much lower in the sky than she expected.

Quickly she sat up, turning her head about her.  She wasn't in the same meadow she had fallen asleep in.  Now she was in a glen, even more beautiful than the place she had left – if that were possible – filled with brightly colored flowers and the greenest grass in the universe.  A river with a pleasant current trickled into a small pond, with the clearest and bluest water she'd ever seen.  Birds soared above, calling in melodious songs, most of them species she'd never seen before in all colors of the rainbow.  Little animals scuttled across the field, many of them staring curiously at the intruder in the glen.

A little white rabbit began to hop towards her.  She smiled at the familiar animal, and watched as it hesitantly came closer to her, wiggling its pink nose and adjusting its ears for balance.  It jumped up towards her legs, and Serenity looked down to watch the rabbit poise itself on her black-clad foot.

The rabbit was there, all right, but it wasn't black she saw – it was pure, shining white.  She couldn't see her foot but for the layer of silk laying on top of it – the white silk that would be the skirt of her dress.

Serenity ran to the pond and stared down at herself in the still waters.  She was no longer dressed in the heavy black mourning robes, but the light, carefree white gown of a bride.  The gown hung slightly off her shoulders, decked with white roses about them and also around her forearms, where the sheer sleeves of the dress stopped, and her hips, where the gown spread into a large white bell-shaped dress that was fluffed by layers of tulle under the silk skirt.  On her head was a tiara decked with hearts formed from pearls and bejeweled with many precious gems, attached to a long sheer veil that fell backwards, all the way down to the ground.  There was a pearl necklace about her neck with a pink pendant lined with pearls at the end, and she wore pearl drop earrings in her ears to complete her look.

She was a picture of resplendence.

Serenity smiled and brought a hand to her cheek – a hand gloved in satin, she realized – and smiled brightly; then she began to twirl in circles, away from the pond for fear of falling in.  She whirled through the glen, the fauna of the strange new world trailing her, running and laughing at her good fortune, not stopping to wonder were the beautiful bridal array had come from, nor how she had disappeared from the poppy-populated meadow.  She was only happy she had escaped her fate as the bride of the serpent-god.

Serenity came skidding to a stop, however, when she was presented with something else in the glen.  It was a huge palace – seemingly made all out of gold.  The huge spires and twisting towers glistened in the sunlight, and the thick mahogany doors on the outside of the palace seemed inviting.

"Come in, my queen," she heard.  "We've been waiting for you."

She looked around quickly, whipping her eyes around the meadow, searching for Helios.  He must have said it, she realized, because he had been the only one around her – but he was nowhere to be found, and she realized that she had not seen the alicorn since she had been in the field of poppies.  Besides, this voice was different from the picture-speech Helios commenced.

Subsequently she looked for another form to speak the words, but saw no one.

"I'm over here, queen – at the gates of the palace.  Do come closer."

Thoroughly confused, Serenity squinted, but saw no one at the doors of the stately palace.  Nonetheless she slowly crept closer to the doors.  About a meter away, she felt a touch on her back, almost like that of a soft hand.

"Come, my queen," the voice said.  "Our servants await you."

For the first time Serenity realized this voice had called her "queen" three times.  "I'm not a queen," she told it.

"Oh, but you are now," he said, and there was mischievousness in his voice.  "Please, do come into the palace!"

The doors of the golden castle opened – but there were no humans to open the doors, or any other creatures, for that matter – and the invisible hand led her inside, to the foyer of the grand palace.

It had to be at least three stories high, with a gold-and-crystal chandalier strung from the ceiling.  However, since it was still daytime, large windows lining the foyer let sunlight stream in and illuminate the room.  Colorful precious jewels inlaid in the floor reflected the light in millions of colors.

"My queen, forgive me! I haven't even told you my name," he said.  She felt a whoosh of air, as if some invisible person were _bowing_ to her, however ridiculous that sounded.  She saw her hand raise without any of her own will, and felt a small pressure on the back of it, as if someone had kissed it.  "I am Tiger Eye, a royal guardian.  I am at your service, your majesty."

"How did I become a queen all of a sudden?"  She felt apprehension in her heart.  Had she married the terrible serpent-god after all?

The guard chuckled.  "No serpent-god, my lady!  Prince – or now, King En—"  He caught himself just in time.  His master had given the household explicit directions not to tell his lovely company his name.  "The king is a kind and gracious man; you'll have nothing to fear from him."

Her heart soared.  But it couldn't be true, could it?  Apollo the oracle had never been wrong in all his divine life.

~My queen!  So you've finally arrived.~

Serenity heard clacking on the castle floors...but it wasn't human.  It sounded like a horse's hooves.

"Helios!"

The silhouette of the pegasus began to change.  A swirling of magical lights flared around him, the wings shrinking, two legs disappearing, the clacking changing from that of hooves to that of feet.  The last thing to disappear was the shning golden horn, shrinking into the head of the silhouette approaching Princess Serenity.  But as the silhouette took a male form, it also faded, and at the moment Helios' new human form would emerge from the shadows—

"Helios?"

"I'm still here, my lady.  Thank you for bringing her inside, Tiger Eye."

There was some kind of exchange between the two invisible figures; Serenity sensed it, but she could not see it.  She felt Tiger Eye leave her side and felt Helios move closer to her, taking her elbow in his hand.

"I've been waiting for you to arrive, my queen, but you took a dreadfully long time to wake up from your slumber.  No matter, you're here now."

She heard him chuckle, then felt him tug at her arm.  "Come, my queen – you must be famished!  You've had a long and harrowing day, wouldn't you agree?"

She nodded, utterly confused.  "Why can't I see you, Helios?"

"Would it make a difference if you could?  I'm still me, aren't I?"

"Well, I think – I mean, you're – I can't be sure, but –"

"Is my voice not the same?"

"Of course it is."

"Are my words the same?"

"Except for the fact that you keep calling me queen, yes."

"But you are a queen, Serenity – the queen of this very palace, and the land belonging to it.  The king is your husband now – he's taken a great fancy to you."

"The serpent-god?" she whispered fearfully.

The young man laughed, a deep, lilting laugh that was incongruous with his light voice.  "No serpent-god, Queen Serenity.  The king is anything but."  He seemed to be smiling at her, although she couldn't be sure how she knew that.  "You're about to learn very quickly how overrated sight is."

The palace was magnificent.  Helios went on telling her about it – the whole thing _was _crafted of gold, inlaid with many precious jewels – sapphires, rubies, emeralds, citrine, as well as the stone bearing the servant's name, tiger's eye.  There was another type of stone called hawk's eye, Helios said, and another servant with such a name.  There was a third to complete the trio, but his name was not a stone, just an appendage of the other two's names – Fish Eye.  There were many servants all over the palace, he said, in every division, wing, and room.

"They are here to do your every bidding," he said, "and so am I.  I am the priest of this land."

He led her into a formal dining room – marvelous!  The food was delectable.  Every time she finished a course, invisible kitchen servants would bring out another – many of them composed of delicious foods she had never tasted at home.  As she dined she chattered with Helios.  When the main course was served – a spicy pheasant – she heard a choir of voices begin singing.  It was a strange language, but their voices were singularly harmonious – but try as she might, she couldn't spot from where the chorus was singing.

"It's a welcome song," Helios explained, and translated some of the words as they sang.  Serenity couldn't recall the language from any of her studies.

"What language is it in?"

There was only silence, but once again she sensed that Helios was smiling at her.


	6. The Awakening

**The Awakening**

***

"How about this nightgown?" asked the youngest voice, the one they called Pallas.  "It's white and pretty – just like a bride should wear!"

"Before she's made a bride," the oldest voice scoffed, that of Vesta.  "That nightgown is as long and thick as a spinster's!"

"Queen Serenity-sama must wear a pretty, lacy gown tonight," said the second-oldest, a sweet voice idenitified as Ceres.  "Her husband is coming home to her..."

Serenity blushed and sank further in the water.  After her dinner, Helios had taken her into the residence wing of the palace, where he explained her bedroom was, as well as her dressing rooms and powder rooms.  He had led her to a powder room, where four voices gleefully took her in and plunked her in a rose-scented bath.  They buzzed around her, chattering part in her own language and part in theirs, addressing her now and then and making decisions for her nightwear.  She came to identify them by their chastising of each other.

"Not quite so long, either," she heard the voice of Juno, the second-youngest, say.  "She'll trip over it while trying to be graceful."

"I doubt our queen is that ungraceful."

"Yes...but women change when they're with their husbands at night..."  
"And how would you know, Juno?"

"I've listened to the maids talk, Vesta!"

"Yes?  And how would they?  That's exactly what they are – old maids." 

"Is anyone tending to our monarchs' bed?" Pallas' voice interjected.  That was one thing about the four girls.  When two of them began bickering, one of the remaining two would quell their fights.  Their sisterhood made Serenity long for her own sisters.  _They should be here, helping me ready for my wedding night_, she thought sadly.

"Yes, some of the other maidservants are," Ceres said.  "Helios said he especially wanted us to help Queen Serenity with her bath and nightclothes."

"How about this?  Pretty blue," Pallas said.  A blue negilgee floated in the air, sprinkled with blue magic.

"Blue?  Oh, but the queen would look so much prettier in yellow."  This was Ceres' voice, and a yellow nightgown went floating through the air, glowing yellow.  "It would match her golden hair!"

"Both would be overkill," Juno's voice said, and a short emerald nightie flew across the air, glowing bright green.  The girls were using magic to send the negligees flying through the air.  "Put this one on her; it contrasts with her hair and eyes."

"Or this one," Vesta said.  "The red constrasts even _better_!"

They bickered for a while, while Serenity soaped herself up with the scented soap.  She inhaled deeply, a blissful peace overtaking her.  "Roses," she breathed.

The four stopped squabbling.  "Rose!" they exclaimed together.

"Oh, her majesty would look _so_ pretty in rose pink," Ceres said, clapping her hands.  Serenity heard the _smack-smack-smack_ as they touched.

"Lacy rose pink, with pretty flowers adorning her hair!"

"It _would_ go with the rosewater..."

****

Serenity stood nervously in her bedroom.  The last vestiges of sunlight had disappeared over the horizon just a few minutes ago.  Only four candles – lit by the four giggling maidservants – illuminated the room.

She couldn't bring herself to lay down or even sit, afraid that drowsiness would overtake her before her new husband arrived.  She blushed at her own excitement and forced herself to sit on the huge, plush canopy bed.

As soon as she sat, a light, warm breeze came whooshing through the room, glittering in gold.  It ruffled the curtains on the windows and the canopy, and blew out the candles, shrouding the room in darkness.  Serenity shivered a little, frightened.

"A little cold, my dear?" a voice asked – different from all the voices she heard earlier.  There was light, loving amusement in the voice.  "Or frightened?  There's no need to be afraid of me."

Serenity turned her eyes towards the doorway of the room, but once again, the voice was just that – a voice.  It was too dark to see even a silhouette; there was nothing visible to go with with the voice.

And yet there was hope – swelling hope.  The voice of the man in the doorway was gentle and kind, and he didn't sound like he wanted to do anything to harm her.  She heard the soft paddings of his feet in the plushy carpet as he moved towards her, and felt his hands take her shoulders, slide down, wrap around her waist.

"They left the rabbit ears," he said, one hand running over the top of her silky head.  
"Who – who are you?" Serenity asked in a small timid voice.

He chuckled lightly.  "My name is Mamoru, my little usagi," he said.  "I am the king of this land.  And your new husband."

Serenity, blushing at the new nickname she had received, racked her brain for her history classes, trying to remember a kingdom with a king named Mamoru so she could properly devise where she was.  But she couldn't remember any king named Mamoru.

"Don't worry about where you are," he said softly, taking her chin in his hand and directing her face back to where his should be.  "You're with me, and that's all that matters."

As he lifted her lips to his, she couldn't help but agree.

***

Upon opening her sapphire blue eyes, Serenity couldn't help but be startled.  The sheer golden canopy was not what she expected – she had expected to see the creamy pink of her bedroom at home.

Slowly, she began to realize where she was, and remembered the events of the previous day.  With a cry of joy she sat up, turning her eyes to regard the figure of the husband that slept beside her—

But when she turned her attention to the place next to her, there was nothing but rumpled sheets.

Serenity swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, struggling not to cry.  Where was the husband who had been so kind, so tender, so loving to her the night before?

Upon closer inspection Serenity discovered a small square of white paper with lettering on it.  The lettering was peculiar, as if the writer was not accustomed to writing in the language in which he wrote, but the message was neat and clear.

_My love, our night was from the heavens.  I will return at dusk to be with you again._

Serenity blushed and shook her head, placing the letter on the night-table besides her side of the great bed.  Then she rose and quickly dressed in a simple blue gown.  She had to find Helios.

Serenity left her bedroom and wandered through the large palace, calling for Helios.  Many voices stopped to confront her – but she saw no one.  They patted her, assured her, told her valuable things – directions through the palace, the time that breakfast would be served – but none of them could tell her where to find the quirky priest who had showed her to her new home.

Finally she came upon the grand entrance to the palace, and she called, "Helios?"

"Queen Serenity?"

She breathed deeply.  "I've been trying to find you all morning!"

"I go to the shrine very early every morning to pray.  There are dreams to be protected – although I suspect that my queen did not do much dreaming last night?"  
Serenity turned red and ignored his question, countering with one of her own.  "Dreams to be protected?"

"Yes, my queen," Helios said, walking across the foyer to stand closer to the queen.  "This land is the land where beautiful dreams are formed, where whimsical creatures from your wildest fantasies dwell – the thoughts of the heart are formulated.  As priest of the country, it is my duty to ensure that all who dream at night are protected from evil that might invade those dreams."

Serenity looked curiously at the place where Helios should have been.  "There's evil?  In this beautiful place?"

"Because of the efforts of our king's armies and my prayers, no.  But evil threatens at the borders.  An evil queen seeks to have the kingdom for her own.  If she captures this land, all is lost."

"What is this land called?"

Once again, Serenity had the feeling that Helios was smiling at her.  "If I told you, my lady, my king would be very angry."

"Why does my husband not want me to know where I am?"

"Because he wants you to be happy, my queen."

"I am happier than I have ever been in my life!"

"I'm very glad!  Then, please do not ask me about your location again.  I cannot tell you, but your pleas will get to me."  His voice had taken on a tender quality, that of a gentle mentor.  "Now, my queen, it is time for breakfast."

****

The day passed just as the previous one – in a state of utter bliss for the young queen.  At breakfast, the choir sung again, a cheerful song about daybreak and morning.  Helios translated the words for her, and she enjoyed their performance very much.

After breakfast she was taken to the stables by Helios, where spry unicorns were made available for her use.  The stable manager had the voice of a hearty old man, but she could not see him, nor could she his sons, the stable boys.  They rode with her, speaking of their family and their lives in the land.

After riding, she re-entered the palace and was barraged by endless questions from the maids and menservants – what color did she prefer?  What would she like for breakfast?  Did her pillow need fluffing?  Did her dresses need cleaning?  Did her linen need changing?  As each one approached her, they chattered happily, sharing their experiences in the country, their lives and the lives of their families with Serenity.  Everyone seemed so cheerful and joyful.  Indeed, this was the land of dreams – and Serenity felt as if she were living in one.  Yet she saw no one.

By late evening, Serenity had rested and eaten her fill of dinner, once again dining with Helios and entertained by the choir.  The quartet of girls had helped her dress for bed once again, and she was now sitting on her bed.

Rather than be wooed into her lover's arms tonight, however, she intended to answer a few questions.

As the night before, the warm zephyr blew into her room, extinguishing the candles that had been lit and surrounding Serenity with sparkling golden glitter.  She heard her husband's footsteps covering the floor, and she felt him take her hands in his.

"Usagi," he said.  "I've missed you all day."

She tilted her head upwards, estimating his height, and smiled.  "Why did you not return, then?" she asked softly.

He chuckled lightly.  "I have many things to attend to during the day, my love."

Serenity looked down at the floor.  Earlier she had been resolute in her decision to question her husband.  But with his gentle answers and loving voice – how could she?  It was clear his love was genuine; he was simply a busy man with many responsibilities.  After all, he _was_ the king!  
She felt a tears form in her eyes.  How could she be so selfish?

Mamoru's hands encircled her face, and he brought her face up.  Although she could not see him, he could see her quite clearly, and he noticed the tears brimming at her eyes.

"What's the matter?" he asked worriedly.

"I—I—I'm sorry," she said, her voice wobbling.  "I didn't mean...to question you...only...I miss you, too, during the day."

Mamoru smiled and pulled his young wife closer to him, holding his close.  "Yes...being separated is difficult," he admitted.  He then looked down at Serenity.  "But we are together now, aren't we?"

Serenity nodded, smiling.  
"So, let us make up for time lost."

Serenity nodded again, her smile lighting her face.


	7. The Request

The Request 

***

"Helios, I can't stand it any longer," King Endymion said, shaking his head.  He was sitting on a chaise in the holy center of the shrine, which was a few miles removed from the palace.  It was the only place on the palace grounds where Endymion could risk being visible, as only he and Helios were allowed inside the holy center.  Everywhere else had the presence of his youthful bride, who had learned her way around the palace during the past few weeks and had come to the shrine to offer sacrifices to the gods.

"You must, my king," Helios told him righteously.  "We discussed this before I went to Apollo and we both know that this is the only way you can have her.  It's too late to stop now.  What are we supposed to do, send her back to her unloved misery on the Moon?"

Endymion sighed heavily.  "Of course not," he said.  "It's just that – I yearn for her so much during the day.  I don't want to just spend nights – I want to share meals with her, ride with her, take a walk across the grounds with her.  Would it really hurt for me to be with her during the day?  I would stay invisible."

"No, your highness.  Serenity is not privy to the enchantment of Elysian because she is a foreigner.  But many of the inhabitants were born here in Elysian, and many of them have magical powers.  Someone is bound to see you and call your name.  And what if Beryl has spies here?  It would get back to her that you are married, and she would attack for revenge."

"Yes, but – she seemed so – so sad!  She cried, Helios.  I can't stand to watch her cry because of what I'm putting her through!"  
"If you really love her, you will stay away from her during the day, sire," Helios said sadly.  "Should Beryl find out about her, she will kill Queen Serenity herself."

Endymion buried his face in his hands, and Helios left respectfully, allowing the man to have his tears in peace.

*****

"Serenity, I have something to tell you."

King Endymion took the shoulders of his wife and turned her towards him.  Her blue eyes were so inquisitive, so loving.  It made a shockwave of emotional pain go through him.  How he wished he could spend his days with his beautiful wife...

He shook his head.  No, it was either nights alone or Serenity would not be his at all.

"Yes, Mamoru?"

"A post on the hill saw two figures approaching the spot where you were left.  After further investigation, they found out that the two women were your older twin sisters, Trivia and Diana.  They came to weep for you, believing you are dead."

Serenity's heart leapt for joy.  "Trivia and Diana!  I must call them to the palace!  We have to send an envoy to gather them.  I want to show them how happy I am – and how wrong Apollo was.  They have nothing to fear—"

"No, Serenity!" Endymion said, and gently jerked Serenity's head back to face him.  "That's what I have to tell you.  I just wanted to let you know that they are there for this very reason; you can't allow your sisters to see you."

Serenity's mouth dropped open.  "Why not?"  
"It's dangerous, Serenity."

"How is letting my own two sisters see me dangerous?  They won't do anything to harm me."

"Maybe not, but it is still too dangerous to allow them to come here.  It would bring great ruin to us, Serenity."

"How?"

"I cannot explain; you just have to trust me.  Do you trust me, Serenity?"

Serenity opened her mouth, but thought better of it and closed it, nodding.

"Then promise me that you will not let your sisters know where you are."

Serenity looked sadly at the bedclothes.  "I promise."  
"Thank you, Serenity," Endymion said, pulling his wife close.  "I promise you, it will work out for the best in the end."

*****

"More tea, King Endymion?"

"Coffee, please."

The maidservant in the doorway, who approached Endymion and poured his coffee.  The same maids who served in the palace also served in the shrine, which spurred Endymion to his question.

"Please tell me – how is she?"

The maidservant looked at Endymion, then lowered her eyes.  "Priest Helios instructed all of us not to tell you how Queen Serenity is faring, my lord."

Endymion rolled his eyes.  "Then I will have to go see for myself."  
"No, my liege!"

"All right, then.  Either you're going to tell me how my wife's health is, or I'm going to see for myself."  King Endymion put his hands on his hips.  "Which will it be?"

The maidservant sighed and rested the coffee pot on the table in Endymion's sunroom.  "She's not well, your highness.  She cries all day."

Endymion cursed under his breath and turned away.  "Why?" he asked, although he already knew the answer.

"She wishes to see her sisters.  She wants to assure them that she is alive and share her fortune with them."

Endymion stared at the floor, chin in hand, thinking deeply.

"Please, your highness," the maid pleaded, "do not try to devise a way to acquiesce to her wishes."

"If her sisters cannot comfort her, who will?" Endymion asked, angry at himself.  "I certainly can't.  She cannot even see me!"

The maid lowered her eyes again.

"Leave me in peace," Endymion said, waving his hand at the maidservant.  "I need time to think."

****

"Serenity, are you all right?"

Serenity nodded, keeping her eyes away from Endymion lest he look into them and find she was lying.  But the king knew his young wife, and he knew right away that Serenity was not being truthful about her feelings.

"You are still grieved about your sisters."

Caught, she nodded, smiling wryly.  "I only want to let them know I'm alive," she pleaded, "and share a day with them.  One more day."

"I do hate to see you so miserable."  The king sighed.

"Please, Mamoru?  Please can they come here?  Just for a day.  It won't be long, I promise.  I won't tell them anything secret, I promise...I just want to see them.  I haven't seen anybody in many weeks; all the servants here are invisible.  Let me see another human!"

That barb pained Mamoru, and he turned away from his wife.  "Fine.  I will let you see them."

Serenity squealed with happiness, throwing her arms around her husband's neck and kissing his cheek.  Through the weeks she had learned to gauge her size against his and approximate where his body parts would be.  "Thank you, thank you, Mamoru!"

"You are seeking your own destruction."  
"How can seeing my sisters amount to destruction?" Serenity said airily.  She was only happy that he had acquiesced to her desire.

"Listen, Serenity," Endymion said.  "I've given you my promise that you will see your sisters.  Now give me a promise in return."

"I did," Serenity protested.  "I won't tell them anything you don't want me to tell, and—"

"No, Serenity," Endymion said, taking his wife's shoulders in his hands again.  "Listen.  No matter what your sisters say to you, no matter how much they coax and cajole, you must not let them – or anyone else – convince you to try and see me."

Serenity's eyebrows knit together.  "Why would they do that?"

"Just listen, Serenity!  Why or how or when does not matter.  All that matters is the answer.  _Do not let them persuade you to try and see me_.  If you try, I won't be able to see you ever again.  We will be separated forever."

Serentiy clutched him close.  "I would never want that.  I love you so much; I couldn't bear to be separated from you any more than we already are!  I only want to see my sisters."

Endymion sighed heavily.  "It will be," he said.  "Tomorrow morning at seven o'clock, when your sisters come to mourn on the high hill, two pegasi will bring them to the palace.  You will then be able to spend the day with them.  The pegasi will bring them back to to the hill before the sun sets."

"Thank you so much, Mamoru," Serenity said, laughing with joy.

Endymion nodded; he couldn't help but smile at his beautiful wife's exuberance.  "Just remember what you promised, Serenity," he warned.

*****

The morning dawned clear and bright on the Moon.  Two lone figures, dressed in black robes with heavy black veils covering their faces, trudged up a rocky hill to reach the rock where their beloved younger sister had been whisked away by a fierce serpent-god.

When they reached the summit, however, they didn't see the usual sight – sparse grass and the large rock Serenity had been perched on when they last saw her.  Instead, two magnificent white horses, each with wings on their back, were positioned on the high hill.  One had a golden horn on its head.

Trivia and Diana's eyes widened, and the girls lifted their veils, turned to exchange glances with one another, then turned back to the pegasi standing before them.  The golden-horned one took a few slow steps towards them.

~Sisters of our dear queen.~

Now the two young queens opened their mouths in wonder.  They pulled closer together, falling to their knees.  It must be some sort of sign from the gods...  
Diana was the courageous one, and so she raised her eyes from the ground to the golden-horned pegasus.  "Your...queen?" she asked, furrowing her brow.

~Climb onto our backs.  You shall know all soon,~ the golden-horned pegasus replied.  ~My name is Helios.  I will take you to your sister's palace.~

"Serenity's alive?!"

"Where is she?!"

~Take flight with us,~ the pegasus said, nodding at the two women.  ~You will know all soon.~


	8. The Visit

The Visit 

***

The pegasi alighted in a beautiful glen.  Trivia and Diana dismounted with their eyes popping in wonder – all the colors, sights and sounds were too much to take in at once!  A beautiful clear stream trickling into a pond; birds and animals walking straight up to them, many of which they had never seen before.  They pet and coddled the animals, until the golden-horned pegasus – the one named Helios – turned to speak to them.

~Follow me, my ladies.  I will show you to the palace.~

The two young women followed the pegasus, passing more beautiful countryside.  Finally they reached the threshold of Golden Palace.  Their eyes opened in wonderment again.

"It's so pretty!"

"The whole thing seems made of gold."

"What a wonder!"

"Is Serenity in _there_?"

Helios smiled inwardly at the last question.

A voice called to the women from the entrance.  "Please, come inside, my ladies."  The doors to the palace opened, showing the foyer sparkling with jewels of all colors.

Serenity was standing in the entrance.

"Trivia!  Diana!" she called, throwing her arms open.

"Serenity!"

The two women ran to their younger sister.  They hugged her tightly, jumped around her, cried, checked her over to make sure she was okay.  Finally, Diana's throat cleared enough to speak.

"Serenity!  Are you quite all right?"

"Quite all right, Diana," Serenity said, smiling.  "My life here has been just wonderful – look!  Isn't this palace beautiful?"

"It's marvelous," Trivia said, staring at the jewels in the floor.  "Are these all – genuine?"

"Yes," Serenity answered.  "Sapphires, rubies, emeralds, citrine, zircon, topaz – every stone imaginable, and a few I haven't heard of myself.  And the exterior is made of solid gold.  I could hardly believe it myself!"

Trivia and Diana smiled, happy their younger sister was so happy herself.

"And you – you look beautiful, Serenity!  That's pure silk, isn't it?"

Serenity looked down at her dress and blushed.  She had put on one of her best for her sisters' arrival.  It was a pearly pink color, matching the blush on her cheeks, and she wore pearl earrings and a pearl necklace to match it.  She nodded speechlessly, then waved her hands.

"Come – follow me, Trivia, Diana," Serenity said.  Trivia and Diana obeyed.  "I asked them to make breakfast a little later today," she explained.  "This way, I could greet you both and then we could go eat.  After breakfast, I'm going to show you the grounds, and then we can eat lunch.  After lunch, we can go riding, then do our evening prayers together before you have to leave."

"Serenity," said Diana, smiling at her sister, "this is all too much – look, the doors are mahogany, and the doorkobs are pure white gold!  Who owns this palace?"  She cocked her head to the side, raising an eyebrow.  "Speaking of which, where _is_ your husband?"

"Yes," said Trivia, nodding at her sister.  "The pegasus said that you were a queen, which means you must have married a king – and a wealthy one, from the look of things.  Where is he?"

"Oh," Serenity said, keeping her face away from her sisters. She racked her brain for a viable excuse.  "He's away on a hunting expedition – he left shortly before you came.  He...won't be back for quite a while.  His friends and he do love to hunt."

"What is his name?  I'm not completely sure where we are – perhaps I can tell from the name of the king."

"His name is Mamoru."

Trivia and Diana exchanged glances.  "That must be his familiar name," Diana said.  "I don't remember any King Mamoru, and surely there would be something in the geography books about a king this wealthy."

"No, his name is just Mamoru."

Trivia shrugged.  "Maybe I cannot remember my studies correctly," she said flippantly.  "So, what is the name of this country?"

"Eh—"  Serenity thought.  "Serenitas."

Trivia and Diana exchanged glances yet again.  "Serenitas?" they said in unison.

"Yes...is it not a coincidence?"

"Funny coincidence," Diana said, her eyes trained on Serenity.

"Queen Serenity!"  A chorus of voices swelled at the door of the dining room, and the two visitors witnessed a peculiar sight.  Their younger sister leaned forward and encircled the air, as if she were hugging someone they could not see.  She did this strange action three more times.

"Ceres, Vesta, Pallas, Juno," she said.  The girls watched as Serenity's eyes went down, then up, as following someone curtseying.  She then curtseyed in turn, the curtsey of a queen to her subjects.  "Girls, these are my sisters.  Trivia is the aqua-haired one, and Diana the taller.  Trivia, Diana, these are my four favorites – Ceres, Vesta, Pallas, and Juno."

There was a lot of modest sighing.  "We are just maidservants of the queen, nothing more," said an authoritative, patrician voice.

Trivia and Diana raised their eyebrows.

"You won't be able to see them," Serenity explained, "they're enchanted with some sort of magic.  Ceres is the oldest, and her voice is oldest.  Her magic is yellow.  Vesta's next, with red; Juno is the third, with green.  Lastly is Pallas with blue magic."  She smiled heartily.  "I've invited them to eat with us this morning."

The four voices squealed.

"Has Serenity taken up ventriloquism?" asked Diana, leaning over to whisper in Trivia's ear.

"Not four voices at once," said Trivia.  "This place is fantastic – why couldn't there be magic?"

"Come inside and eat," said a young voice – it must have been Pallas.

"Allow me to take your coat, Lady Trivia."  A spark of yellow nipped Trivia's cloak from her back, ostensibly Ceres.

"And I yours, Lady Diana."  The two sparks of green indicated this girl was Juno.

"Pallas and I will show you to the table."  The last voice must have been Vesta, as hers was the only voice unheard, and this was a different one.  Trivia and Diana followed the trails of red and blue into the dining room and to the table.

The breakfast was spectacular.  The kitchen staff had prepared a wonderfully spicy brunch quiche with eggs, bacon, toast, pancakes – anything that the two young women asked for, they received.  The sound of a great choir of voices wafted into the dining room, entertaining the queens with a bright, happy melody.

"What a language!"

"What are they saying?"  
"I'm beginning to learn," Serenity said, smiling brightly, and she sang a few bars of the tune.  "It's a song about daybreak, the dawning of a new day," she explained.  "They sing a slightly different variation of it every morning."

_No one sings at breakfast at my home,_ thought Diana to herself.

"The choir sings at breakfast and at dinner.  It's always different, yet always the same."

_I don't even think we have a choir at home_, Trivia thought to herself.

The girls ate slowly and to their heart's content, chattering and laughing in between bites, but Serenity did not know that the beginnings of poisonous jealousy were creeping into her sisters' hearts.

"Would you like to go riding after breakfast?"

Trivia and Diana did, and as soon as they were finished eating, the girls headed out to the stables.

The young women were delighted to find the large stables filled with beautiful purebred horses animals of every color and variety – steeds, stallions, mares, as well as other horse-like animals – pegasi, unicorns...

They had a delightful time riding, during which the invisible stable-boys pointed out the sights they saw, chattered on about their life happy in Elysian, and talked at great length about the king – handsome, powerful, mighty in battle, and yet kind to his subjects, like a loving father, the countrymen his children.  Trivia and Diana exchanged envious glances several times during the ride...and they also stole glances at their sister who was blushing heavily.

After their riding expedition, Serenity showed them around the palace, but halfway through they were stopped by the four magical maidservants, who wished to give the three young women beauty attendence.  A half hour later, the three young women found themselves immersed in baths of rare soaps and being attended to by about seven giggling young voices.

"We'll do your hair and nails afterwards.  How would you prefer them?"

Trivia looked to Serenity.  "Do they treat you like this every day?"

"Just about," Serenity said absently, blowing rosy suds from her hands.  She was glowing radiantly, so happy was she that her sisters were joining her in her splendor.

Trivia looked at her hands, particularly her fingernails.  They had been need of a touch-up manicure for two days, but her handmaidens were on a short vacation.  _Serenity has so many here it doesn't matter if half of them went on vacation_, she thought bitterly.  _There would still be enough to tend to her needs_.

***

"Dinner was absolutely delicious," said Trivia, setting down her fork and smiling brightly at her younger sister.  "What do you do afterwards?"

"Normally I do a bit by myself, reading or something, and then I get dressed for bed."  Serenity smiled as she took a sip of the wine provided for the dinner.  "But since you two are here tonight, I can talk to you for a while before Mamoru comes home."

"I thought you said he was on a hunting expedition," Diana said, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.  "He's coming back today?"

Serenity blushed.  She'd never been good at lying, especially not to her sisters, who knew her inside out.  "Silly me...I'm just so used to him coming home to me at night I forgot he wouldn't this night..."

"You mean he only comes home at night?" asked Trivia, raising an eyebrow.

"No, no," Serenity said quickly.  "It's just...well...he's been away a lot lately, doing...things for the kingdom, I suppose.  Lately I haven't been seeing much of him during the daytime."

Trivia smiled brightly, an idea springing from her sister's shortcomings in speech.  She was beginning to smell a rat, and neither of the twins ever overlooked anything they could use to their advantage.  "So," she said, her bright smile pasted in place, "what does he look like, Serenity?"

Diana, who had been regarding her twin sister cautiously, felt her surprised expression melt into a smirk.  "Yes, Serenity...the stable boys seemed quite envious of his appearance."

"Oh," Serenity said airily.  Inside she was struggling to come up with an appearance.  "His eyes – they're like fire, they sparkle so wondrously.  He's tall and has the build of a god – his beauty would rival Adonis – even Endymion, the moon goddess's consort," she said, giggling.  "His skin is tanned and he's lean in figure.  The silkiest hair..."

"What color are his fire-eyes?" Trivia inquired.

"They're...they're...green."

"Green?"

"As green as the lush fields outside the palace."

"And his hair?" Diana asked.

"Bl...blond.  Rich and golden like...the sun."

"Blond hair and green eyes, with the build of a god."  Trivia smiled and stored that appearance in her memory.

*****

"Diana, did you see what I saw?"

Diana shot a glare at her sister, but the animosity contained in it was not directed towards Trivia.  The two girls had just been set back on the rocky summit after spending the day with their younger sister in her new home.  Serenity had bade them goodbye, saying that they could not spend the night for mysterious reasons, but in her sorrow for their leaving had filled their hands with precious gems, expensive wines, and luxurious fabrics from which to make gowns for themselves.

"It could have been a dream."

"Could have been."  Trivia sighed.  "It's not fair, you know.  Serenity always received everything – the most beautiful mortal in the world.  Our only consolation could be that she was alone, and we were married."

"But now?"  Diana nodded in agreement.  "She's richer than Orcas and Somnus put together!"

"It's injustice," Trivia said.  "Fit for Adrasteia herself to revise."

Diana shook her head.  "But did you also see what I saw, sister?"

"What are you talking about?"

"The means to remove Serenity from her oh-so-high standing."

"Hm..."  Trivia nodded.  "I figured you were on my wavelength when you began asking Serenity the same questions as I was asking her.  I knew that something could be done with such knowledge...especially it doesn't seem like Serenity has seen her husband at all.  She took much too long to answer simple questions, like his hair and eye color!"

"There can be no kingdom without a king, can there?"

Trivia stared at her sister for several moments until realization dawned upon her.  Then her face curled into a smirk.  "And the penalty for killing such a king is certainly exile."

"But what else could a woman do, with a horrible serpent as a husband?"


	9. The Plot

The Plot 

***

"Serenity, are you planning to have your sisters return to the palace again tomorrow morning?"

Serenity looked up from the bedclothes to where her husband's voice had originated.  "Yes," she admitted.  "I was going to ask you first, of course.  Please?"

Endymion sighed.  "Serenity, please don't have them come back here."

"Why not?"  Serenity cried.

"You said only _one_ more day," he answered.  "I'm telling you, it's dangerous to have them come here more than once!"

"But..."  She bit her lip, which was trembling in lieu of the tears that were about to roll down her cheeks.  "We had such fun yesterday.  We went riding, and the maids and the stable boys told her the most wonderful stories about this country.  And the choir sang for them.  The food was even more delicious than it normally is, if that's possible.  They enjoyed themselves so much; but neither one of them enjoyed themselves more than I!"

"It's not wise," Endymion insisted, stroking his beloved's face.  "I want you to be happy, and to enjoy yourself.  But I also look to the future.  Your sisters' next visit will bring more pain than joy."

"No," Serenity said stubbornly.  "My sisters will never do anything to harm me.  I am so lonely here, alone during the day – you are away doing the gods know what.  The maidservants and everyone are so very nice, but I cannot _see_ them.  And these are the two who I have grown up with, who have watched me ever since I was very little!  Why would they try to bring destruction upon my soul?"

Endymion sighed heavily.  His wife's voice was trembling, and she was on the brink of tears once more.

"Fine," he said, softening at her open show of emotions.  "But Serenity, I will ask you to promise me this again—"

"—not to let them persuade me to see you," she said, happy once again.  She placed her hands around his neck.  "I know, I know!  I would never jeopardize _our_ happiness either, love."  Serenity began to draw her husband in for a kiss.

"I know you wouldn't, intentionally," Endymion replied, resisting her kiss with great effort.  "But...women are...crafty, Serenity.  You yourself – you're the most innocent young woman I've ever met.  But others are not like you.  Sweet or not, women are capable of heinous crimes when they are jealous."

"Jealous!"  Serenity laughed.  "Why would Trivia or Diana be jealous of _me_?  Both of them were married before I was; their husbands are both exceptionally handsome and they are rich.  We're all in the same situation!"

Endymion shook his head.  "Believe what you want.  But you must promise me, darling, that you won't allow anyone to persuade you to see me.  I swear to the gods that if you do, you'll regret it!"

"But I won't!"  She kissed her husband quickly before he could protest, and once enclosed in it, he found he couldn't pull away.  "Now, since I cannot behold you, may I behold my sisters tomorrow?  Please?"

He smiled, nodding, his mind a little clouded by Serenity's eagerness.  "Yes," he said.  "Go ahead.  But be careful, Serenity."

****

"Good morning, sisters!"  Serenity hugged them both tightly, as she had done the day before; they hugged her back with the same alacrity.  "How are you this morning?"

"Fine – and you look fine yourself.  We don't have to ask," Trivia said, her voice taking on a warmth she did not feel.  She eyed the deep indigo gown Serenity wore, this one of muslin and lace.

"Oh," said Serenity, and blushed.  She'd taken into account what her husband had told her last night and had donned one of her lesser gowns, but even that was beautifully crafted and was more expensive in quality than the most expensive of gowns in either Diana or Trivia's closet.  It complemented her immensely and only served to highlight the beautiful radiance she possessed.

The view only intensified her sisters' jealousies, but they suppressed them.  Their plan would not fail, and soon they would have nothing to envy from their resplendent younger sister.

"Come inside, my dear sisters," she said, brushing away the compliment and bringing her sisters into a parlor to await the announcement that breakfast was ready.

"Did you enjoy your night with your husband, Serenity?" Trivia asked innocently, seating herself.

Serenity blushed.  "It was wonderful," she answered.  "As always.  He's so kind to me."

"So he returned early from his hunting expedition, hmm?" Diana said.

Serenity stopped in her tracks.  "Um...yes."  She gave them both a watery smile.  "Something went wrong...with the carriage.  So the men had to return."

Diana and Trivia exchanged glances with one another, knowing full well from experience that men – even the wealthiest – did not travel by carriage to their hunting sites.

"Must be wonderful, staring deeply into those eyes each night," Diana breathed.  "I know from experience.  Somnus' eyes are so very blue – just like your husband's – it's most wonderful."

"Blue as the oceans," Serenity said, eager to agree with her sister.  "It's like slipping into a pool of cool water."

"And to run your fingers through his hair..."  Trivia sighed.  "Deep and dark and cool...like ebony."

"Or the cedars of Lebanon," Serenity said, smiling dreamily.

"But dear sister," Diana said treacherously, "just yesterday night you told us your husband's eyes were green as the meadows."

Serenity's mouth dropped open with shock.

Coming into the parlor, Ceres nearly dropped the tray of tea she was carrying to greet the two older women.  She stopped outside the doorway to listen to their conversation, glad for once that she could not be seen by either the twins or her queen.

"And you said that his hair was as golden as the sun," Trivia accused.

"I...I...was mistaken..."

"You've never seen your husband, have you, Serenity?"  Diana stood, placing her hands on her hips.

"I...I..."  Serenity bowed her head, close to tears.  "No.  I haven't."

"He only comes to you at night, when it is completely dark and you can't see him, right?"

Serenity looked up at her two sisters, a tear rolling down her cheek.  "How did you know?"

"Because, Serenity.  We asked."

"You...asked?"

"Look," Trivia said, coming to sit next to her sister and placing an arm around her, "you're younger than us, more innocent.  You tend to take things at face value. But when we came here yesterday and realized that you couldn't describe your husband accurately without stammering, we decided that we had to make sure that you were truly as happy as you claimed to be."

"So we went to Apollo, the oracle, to ask him if your husband was truly as handsome, kind and gentle as you said he was," Diana continued.  "He said that your husband was kind now, and appeared to be a handsome man.  But he conceals himself at night because underneath the darkness, he truly is the horrible serpent that you were fated to marry."

"Oh, no," Serenity whispered.  "That can't be true."

"You can't be sure whether he is man or beast, Serenity," Trivia said softly.  "You just said yourself that you have never seen him, didn't you?"

"Yes – I have never seen him," she answered.  "But he is kind and gentle to me!  He..."  She blushed.  "He _feels_ like a man."

"Silly, irreverent girl."  Diana shook her head.  "You know that this serpent-god has powerful magic, for you hear voices but do not see anyone.  What makes you think he cannot lull you into _thinking_ you feel a man, when really you are being entered by a horrendous beast?"

Serenity clapped her hands over her mouth, her eyes widening.  Tears slipped down her cheeks, disappearing behind her hands.  "No!"

"The oracle said that the serpent desires to have you bear him an heir first.  Then he will turn and devour you."

"Mamoru would never do that to me!"  But she couldn't deny her sister's claims.  They'd spoken to an oracle!  Apollo's words were always true.  Serenity's body shook with her tears.

"He has lulled your mind with his magic.  You cannot keep on believing his lies if you want to save yourself, Serenity!"

"I..."  Serenity swallowed a sob as she alternated looking at Diana and Trivia, who had by now both came to sit on either side of her.  "I often wondered why he would never let me see him, always at night.  I thought it was folly.  I am the silly one!"

"Oh, but Serenity," Trivia said, her voice taking on the quality of love.  "Who could help but believe his lies?  His voice must have been so sweet, his features felt so enticing."

Serenity nodded wretchedly.  "There must be something very wrong," she sobbed, "for him to shun the light of day."

Her two sisters nodded gravely.

"What should I do?" she asked them, her eyes bright with tears and wide with pleading.

Diana could hardly conceal her smile.  Her sister was so gullible!  "By now you must have learned the art of womanly persuasion, Serenity," she said with a smirk.  Serenity blushed.

"You must spend only one more night with the wretched beast.  Before you go to bed, though, hide a knife and a lamp close by the bed.  When he comes in to spend the night with you, give in to him...put him to sleep the best you can.  Then, when the beast sleeps soundly, light the lamp and plunge the knife into his heart."__

"We will be near," Trivia said, "and carry you away with us when he is dead."

_No!_ Ceres thought.  She knelt down and set the tray of tea on the floor, lest she drop it.  Her hands were trembling.  But she had to stay and hear her mistress's answer...she hoped to the gods that Serenity would keep her senses and not be frightened by her sisters' wicked words.

"You...promise that you'll be here?"

"We can't stay inside the palace," said Diana, "because that would seem suspicious.  Besides, should the serpent happen upon us, he might devour us, then ravish and kill you!  But we will be close by."

"We would never leave our sister in her hour of need."

Serenity stared at the floor.  "Then...I will," she said.  "I'll come outside through the side entrance at night when I...am finished."

Her sisters nodded and exchanged a satisfied glance over her head.

****

"Queen Serenity!"

Serenity turned.  The flurry of yellow magic signified Ceres' presence, and she smiled upon seeing it.  "Ceres.  Did I forget something?"

"Only these."  Ceres' voice was cold as a lantern and a sharp knife floated up in the air.  "You left them under the chaise in the powder room."

Serenity's lips parted, and she uttered a soft groan whens he saw the items.\

"Please tell me you won't do what those wicked women told you to do," she said.

"Those 'wicked women' happen to be my sisters!" Serenity exclaimed.

"Apologies, your highness," Ceres said sarcastically.  "Forgive me for branding those who told you to kill your own husband as wicked!"

"My husband seeks to kill me!" Serenity screamed back, and then lowered her voice.  Someone in the palace might have heard her.

"You don't know that for sure."

"Have you ever seen the king, Ceres?" Serenity asked.

"Of course.  On several occasions."

"What does he look like?"

Ceres lowered her eyes, although the queen could not see it.  "I...cannot tell you."

Serenity threw her hands up in frustration.  "Do you know how many times I went over this, all day?  The one side told me I love my husband, very much.  But the other said he was a terrible serpent-god, and I loathe him!  I must kill him – no, no, I cannot kill such a kind and sweet man.  I must do his bidding.  No, I must do my _own_ bidding, so as not to be devoured.  On and on and on all day...do you know how painful that is to one's soul?"

Ceres shook her head.

"Serpent or not...my heart, my love, my very soul, is deeply entrenched in this man...the man I love so very much."  A tear rolled down the queen's lovely face.  "But he might be out to kill me!  I could come to only one conclusion: I must lay eyes on him.  I must prove either way – gentle man or ugly beast.  Can you at least sympathize with that?"

Ceres dropped her head, then held the items up to her queen, who gently took them from her hands.  "Queen Serenity-sama," she said, "I ask only this."

"What's that?"

"That you look at him first.  Look very closely.  Remember, with all the love in your heart, how this man had treated you, and _look_ before you make your move with this—"  She pointed to the knife.

Serenity nodded, and Ceres ran to her queen, hugged her tightly, then ran off through the palace, sobbing silently to herself for the fate of her master who loved her misguided mistress more than his own soul.


	10. The Discovery

The Discovery 

***

Serenity shivered lightly as she rolled from her side of her and her husband's grand bed.  The warmth of the covers had left her – and even so, it was an artificial warmth.  Usually she felt protected and loved in her husband's embrace.  Tonight, that had not been the case.

Of course, being who he was, Endymion was naturally interested in his wife's distance.  "Is something wrong?" he asked her solicitously, caring evident in the deep blue eyes his wife could not see.

"No, of course not," Serenity had said, but truthufully, she was uncertain.  She couldn't feel as comfortable and safe with Endymion as before.  She had no way of knowing whether he was really a man or a horrible serpent bent on destroying her once she produced an heir.

The feeling lingered.  As she loved her husband that night, she couldn't help but wonder – is this really his shoulder I touch?  Or is his skin slimy and slick to the touch?  Are these his lips I kiss, or does he even _have_ lips?  Does he look down at me with two eyes or twenty?

The questions drove her crazy, and by the time Endymion lay sleeping besides her, she felt absolutely resolute about one thing – she had to see her husband, no matter what.

Quietly, she crept across the room to where she had stashed the oil lantern and the sharp knife.  She picked both up carefully and soundlessly brought them to the side of the bed Endymion slept on.  Kneeling, she struck a match and lit the lantern, then put it in one hand, the knife in the other, then rose up to the side of the bed.  Heaving a sigh, she lifted the lantern high over her husband's body.

At first she was startled, because she saw nothing, and wondered if the serpent had really rendered her blind.  Realizing that she had her eyes closed, she held her breath and opened one, slowly, carefully.

The sight made her gasp.  Her husband, king of the beautiful dreamworld, looked even more glorious than his kingdom.

Oh, what wonder!  He really did have the build of the gods.  His form _could_ rival Adonis' or Endymion's...she breathed deeply, realizing that she had been holding her breath.  In his naked splendor, one could see clearly the muscled physique, the broad chest that rose and fell with each breath, the silky black hair that lay tousled across his forehead.

Serenity cursed to herself.  How could she have ever thought that this dazzlingly handsome man could have been an ugly serpent?  It almost made her laugh.  This striking king was anything but.

The rapture that had filled her heart was quickly replaced by shame and remorse.  Her husband was not a serpent and had never meant to hurt her.  Why did she transgress his will?  Weakened by the force of her folly, she fell to her knees, trembling in a mixture of awe at the man's divine beauty and her own sorrow at not trusting him.  The gods only knew why he would keep such a divine appearance from her, but for whatever reason, he did – but it had not been to harm her in any way.

Overtaken by her unfaithfulness, Serenity struggled with the knife in her hands, fully intending to plunge it in her heart to punish herself for her mistrust.  However, the struggle with one side caused a wavering with the other.  Serenity inadvertantly tipped the lantern to the side, causing the hot oil from her lamp to pour from the holder and fall on the man's shoulder.

"Yow!"  In two seconds he was up, jumping from the bed.  Serenity jumped nearly two feet in the air, her arms flailing.  The knife flew from her hands, clattering harmlessly to the floor.

"Mamoru!" she yelled.  "It is only I, Serenity, your love!"

Endymion's eyes widened when he saw Serenity, naked as he, peering over him, and for what seemed like an eternity, they stared at each other in surprise.  His eyes _were_ as blue as the oceans.

However, a billowing screen of smoke soon obstructed Serenity's view of her beautiful husband.  In her fright she'd also cast the lantern out of her hands, dropping it on the curtain of the bed, which had caught on fire.

"Quickly, the water on the table!  My magic doesn't cover water!"  A gale of wind blew over the curtains, ruffling them and spreading the flames of the fire.  Serenity reached for the pitcher of water sitting on the dresser and threw it upon the bed.  Endymion's winds carried the water all over the quickly spreading fire, and in a matter of minutes, the fire was out.

Endymion stared at the bed for a few more moments, then turned to his wife.  He was speechless with sorrow and betrayal.

"Why?" he finally asked.

Serenity looked away from the hurt in his eyes.  "I..."

"Did you not trust me?  Didn't the others tell you I was not a serpent?  Was that not enough for you?"

Serenity's chest heaved with a sob.  "I...I'm sorry, my love!"  She looked up to him.

He shook his head and began to dress himself.

Serenity sat down on the bed unhappily, watching her husband move as he dressed.  His body motions were so fluid...to see him was to love him.  Unfortunately, to see him was also to lose him, as she was learning now.  She sensed that something was now terribly wrong...after all, he had promised that if she attempted to see him, they would be separated forever.

Helios appeared at the window per Endymion's silent summons.  One look inside and he knew exactly what had happened.

Endymion went to the window and climbed on the back of his pegasus, forcing himself not to look at his wife.  He longed to kiss her, touch her, but he knew that he could do none of that now.  His short time with her was over.

"Are you going away?" she asked meekly.

He struggled to look even further away, but in the opposite direction was the white moon.

"Love cannot live where there is no trust."

*****

Serenity gazed out of the window.  Endymion and the pegasus had long since disappeared from sight, and she could only gaze after the place where he had been, knowing that he would never come back to her.

There was a slight rap on the door, but the young queen was unable to answer it.  The knocker entered anyway.  "Queen Serenity-sama?"

Serenity turned around.  The sparkles of yellow told her that the knocker was Ceres, but she also saw hints of blue, green, and red.  Pallas, Juno, and Vesta were peeking around the other side of the door as well.

The queen turned back to the window.  "He's gone."

The four girls solemnly entered the room.  As they entered Serenity turned back towards the girls and was entertained by a magnificent sight.  In four different ways, the girls materialized, finally showing themselves to their queen.

"Ceres told us what happened in the parlor," said Pallas.  The young girl was the shortest of the girls, defining her age; she had short, curly blue hair and light blue eyes.  "We're very sorry."

"Ceres told me not to do it," Serenity said.  "I didn't listen to her.  I should have.  If I had, he would still be here..."

The girls remained silent.

"Who was he?" she asked.

"Endymion was his name.  He was the crown prince of this country, Elysian," Vesta answered.  This girl was taller than the rest, with long crimson hair and blazing eyes indicating her age with their narrowness.

"Endymion?!  Elysian?!"  Serenity gasped.  "That's the mythical land of dreams, Elysian!  Helios did tell me that, but I didn't know he meant _the_ land of dreams!"  She sighed.  "And Endymion.  He was famed as a king, the most handsome male mortal to ever live."

"When his family was killed years ago, including his father, he became the crown prince," Juno continued.  The girl held her green hair in a ponytail, and he eyes shared the color.  She was taller than Pallas but shorter than Ceres and Vesta.  "However, he couldn't be a king until he married, per a decree his father made before he died after a squabble they had.  He was going to take it back – he made it frivolously – but the war with Erebus began, and he was killed in it."

"The queen of Erebus saw Endymion during the fight and fell madly in love with him," Ceres continued.  Surprisingly, her features were not the color of gold, but rather pink, with pink eyes and skin paler than the other three sisters.  She was taller than Juno but shorter than Vesta.  "Or rather, became infatuated with him.  Her love was not pure like yours.

"That is why Endymion had to hide himself from you.  He didn't want the evil queen to find out that he was married to you, and was afraid that if you knew who he was, somehow – perhaps through your sisters – he would be discovered and Queen Beryl would find out.  He wanted so badly to have you here that he risked even her displeasure.  He loved you so much."

"But who says my love was pure?" Serenity said bitterly.  "The king of Elysian!"  She shook her head sadly.  "I was not satisfied by his caring and his love.  I had to _see_ him.  King Endymion, ruler of Elysian...he was my husband, and I, wretch that I am, could not keep faith with him."

She turned back to the window.  "Is he gone from me forever?"

Juno sighed a little.  "He's probably gone to hide from Beryl," she said.  "She has spies, and when they saw the fire at the palace – which, I might add, he's been trying to hide the location of for years – they probably rushed off to tell her what happened."

"But," said Pallas, "the four of us have lived here all our lives and learned the ways of Elysian as we've learned the service.  We know the Earth like the back of our hands."

Serenity looked up at the four girls.  "You...do?"

They nodded, smiling mischievously.

Serenity turned her eyes downward.  "No matter.  He probably never wants to see me again, especially not after what I did.  I've lost his trust."

"My queen!"  Ceres shook her head.  "Don't lose hope so quickly!  King Endymion-sama loved you more than he loved his own life.  There's no way even your trying to see him could have erased all the love he had for you – it's impossible!"

"You should have seen the way he moped about the palace after he came back from the wedding on the Moon," Vesta said, smirking.  "Beryl had ordered you killed – she envied your beauty.  But he said the moment he laid eyes on you, he could not do it!  He had fallen in love with you on first sight.  He desired to bring you here, and when Helios devised a way to do it – telling the oracle to tell your father about the serpent – he was so happy!"

"You're not just going to let him run away from you, are you?" asked Pallas, smiling at her queen.

Serenity smiled weakly.  "I would spend the rest of my life searching for him!"

"Pray it will not take that long, my queen," said Vesta.  "We _do_ know a few shortcuts."

*****

"Your highness!  Your highness!"

Beryl turned her hazel eyes from the glass of wine she'd been sipping from and caught sight of the two generals she'd sent out.  "What are you doing back here?"

"Your highness," the older one of them said.  He had wavy auburn hair cascading down his back and deep, warm brown eyes.  "We've discovered the location of the prince's palace."

"Splendid!" Beryl shrieked, and laughed, clapping her hands.  "Where is it?"

"Deep in the heart of Elysian," replied the younger, a blue-eyed young man with short, fluffy blond hair.  He completed the quartet of Beryl's generals – the other two being the ones who had appraised her of the Moon Princess's death.  "It had a magic shield cloaking it.  But the magic faltered – because the prince was fleeing the castle with that horse-priest of his."

"Why was the prince fleeing his _own_ palace?" Beryl wondered.

"We wondered the same.  We had messengers watching.  They reported a fire in the palace.  And get this – one of them saw the face of a beautiful young maiden – well, obviously not a maiden any longer – in the window of the king's bedroom.  Guess who that would be?"

"Who?" asked Beryl.  It already caused her heart to roar with jealousy when she heard that a female was in Endymion's bedroom, no matter whom she was.

"The supposed dead princess of the Moon Kingdom, Serenity."

"It can't be!" Beryl said, jumping to her feet.  She turned her lovely face from one general to the other.  "Endymion killed the wretched thing _months_ ago!"

"Obviously not, your highness.  The spies were going to sketch her to be sure.  However, they found they couldn't...because she was too beautiful.  Classic case.  But the description fits her perfectly."

"Ooh!!"  In her anger, the voluptuous queen dashed the wine chalice she held on the floor.  The red liquid slid through the shards of glass on the floor.  "The little traitor!  I should have known that squeamish thing wouldn't have done it, fine as he is.  Did anyone see his direction?"

_Fool queen,_ thought the older general, _she's so worried about that stupid prince.  When will she learn that he will never have her?_  "No, your highness."

Beryl cursed fiercely.  "Look, there's four of you," she said.  "Two of you pursue the prince – scour the land for him!  I want every nook and cranny of the Earth searched until he's found.  He's mine – I'll be damned if I let some little hussy from the moon steal him away from me!"

She stroked her chin.  "The other two, go to the palace and kill that girl!"

As soon as the words fell from her lips, she thought better of them.  "No, no," she said quickly.  "I changed my mind.  "Don't kill her.  When you find her...inform me of her location.  No doubt she'll go searching for him."

"If you'll forgive me for asking, why wouldn't you want her dead, Queen Beryl-sama?" asked the younger general, scratching his head.

"Because.  She's Endymion's weak spot.  The way to him is through her.

"Besides," said the queen, a smirk curling over her face, "there are things much worse than death."


	11. The Capture

The Capture 

***

~My liege,~ Helios said, ~where shall I fly to?  The Thessalians are quite hospitable, and that's the farthest kingdom from Erebus; however, it's also quite far from us.  King Lucifer's son was once in your guard and he will no doubt give you asylum – Endymion?  Are you listening to me?~

The pegasus turned his head and looked at his prince.  The poor man's eyes were half shut and glazed over, his pupils drastically dilated.  His face was deathly pale.  The king's grip on the pegasus' mane loosened.

"Serenity..." he whispered, and promptly fell from the pegasus' back.

Highly alarmed, Helios swooped down and caught the prince in midair, wincing from the weight of the man slapping against his back.  He was shockingly hot to the touch.  ~King Endymion?~ he said fearfully.  ~You must stay awake!  It's imperative!  He's unconscious,~ Helios realized.

Turning the other way, he noticed the burn on the man's shoulder.  It was larger than he thought, and turning purple.  ~Oh dear, it must be infected.~

Besides that, the young king was probably tired from flying all this way and lovesick for his dear wife.

Sighing heavily, Helios prepared to land.  He must at least tend to Endymion's wounds and see what he could do about the infection.

*****

Serenity leaned over the back of her unicorn as it galloped over the land.  The saddle basket slapped against the horse's flanks.  She had been well stocked with food, water, and medicine in case she should take ill.

Ceres, Vesta, Juno, and Pallas had seen her off with the healthiest, youngest, and spryest of the unicorns, knowing that their queen may be gone for quite some time.  Although they could not go with her, they enchanted her with many magic spells and added their potions to stave off illness.  Smirking, Ceres had added one more potion to the mix.  "A love potion," she said.  "Give some of it to Endymion and he will love you as he's never loved you before."

Armed with her supplies, the young queen had set out, having no idea where to go but following her heart, trusting that it would lead her to her husband somehow.

She'd been riding for hours, asking various people along the way if they had seen her husband flying overhead.  She'd turned around a numerous amount of times, following the trail of people who'd seen the white pegasus flying across the skies with the king's capes billowing behind him.  Although the unicorn was magical and swifter than normal horses, the pegasus had much more magic and could fly much faster than the unicorn ran.  Only the gods knew how far he had gotten in the night and day he had to fly.

"Come on, Silvanus," Serenity whispered to the unicorn.  He was one of her favorites – he seemed to try to run faster just by her soft whisper.  "You love Endymion as much as I do.  You can feel him; I know you can.  Help me find him, Silvanus."

*****

"Endymion, please, open your eyes."  Helios tipped a cup of water to his master's lips, attempting to get the young man to drink.  He'd transformed back into his human form.  "It's dangerous for us to be here for too long."

Endymion choked on the water, and his eyes slowly opened.  They were still severely glazed over.  "Helios...Serenity?"

"You don't remember anything?  The fire, the knife, she tried to see you?"

Endymion closed his eyes as if in pain.  "No," he moaned.

"Whoa – wake back up.  You'll slip into unconsciousness again.  Look, the burn she gave you got infected."

"Wasn't her fault..."

"You lovesick fool, there's no tricking you, is there?"  Helios shook his head in amusement.

The king smiled weakly.  "Love her," he replied.

"Well, since you love her so much, you want her to stay alive, don't you?"  Helios stared at the king.  "I hope Beryl doesn't discover the queen in the palace, and if she does, I hope those four maidservants we put in charge of her spin a good tale.  I know they can do it...they've probably sent her away at once."

"Beryl...no...palace...where..."

"King Endymion, you're sicker than a three-headed dog," Helios replied, understanding the young king's broken speech remarkably well.  "You really don't think your magic is shielding the palace any longer?  Mine isn't nearly as strong as yours; I can only protect it, not render it invisible."

"Where...we..."

"We're in a tall-grassed savannah, about three hundred fifty kilometers away from the palace.  We're still a long way from Thessaly – closer to Babylon, I'd say.  Queen Semiramis may not take well to our coming to her kingdom.  She is very afraid of Queen Beryl since the Babylonian army is so small, and if she knows that you are fleeing Beryl, she will turn you out..."  Helios gazed down at his king.  "You're not really in the mood to hear this, are you?"

Endymion shook his head.  "I want her," he sighed.

Helios sighed, too.  Endymion's first full sentence had been in reference to the queen of Elysian, not Semiramis, who although pretty had never been too kind to the prince of Elysian.  The poor young man was distraught and delirious, but the only thing his mind could comprehend clearly was his beloved young wife.

"We'll find a way," Helios said.  "Right now I've got to bring your fever down so we can continue."

***

"Well, well, well," chuckled a voice above the king.  "Look what we have here."

Endymion's eyes shot open and he groaned loudly.  There was a sword pointing at his neck.  Holding it was a tall, dark-skinned man with silver hair and grey eyes.

"Kunzite?"  Endymion shook his head.  "My fever must not have gone down.  You're dead."

The general chuckled again.  "Far from it, Prince Endymion," he replied.  "I'm not dead at all.  I'm alive and kicking."

Endymion tried to sit up, but the point of the sword dug into his neck.  He cried out and fell back to the ground.  "It's real!" he exclaimed.  His eyes widened.  "But...Kunzite...you died over three years ago."

"Correction," said another voice.  A blond-haired general, wavy hair confined in a ponytail, strode up to the place were Kunzite had the sword at Endymion's neck.  "We died to _you_ over three years ago."

"Zoisite?"  Endymion squinted, still woozy from his bout with infection.  He spotted the insignia on the side of the general's uniform.  "The Erebese military?"

"Good boy," said Zoisite.

"I'm delusional," Endymion said.  He turned to the side.  Helios was bound, hefted onto the back of a monstrous horse.  The priest had unfortunately been found in his human form.  His mouth was gagged, but he made wild gestures to the prince anyway.

~Your highness,~ he said, ~you are most certainly not delusional.~

"Let me get this straight," Endymion said, mostly to Helios.  "You're telling me that two men who died three years ago are not really figments of my imagination but are somehow standing before me and are ready to kill me?"

~Just about.~

"One thing wrong," General Zoisite replied, smirking.  "Queen Beryl-sama doesn't want us to kill you."

"She...doesn't?"

"Oh, no," General Kunzite said.  "She wants you very much alive."

Endymion's eyes rolled back in his head, and he chose that moment to pass out, fever rising back up to dangerous levels.

***

"My head."

"Yes, dear.  You must have a splitting headache."

Endymion smiled.  Serenity!  She had found him in the savannah.  The dead men were visions; they weren't real.  Serenity had come, found him in the savannah, and she was now tending to his wounds and his infection.

His smile faded, however, when he opened his eyes.  Welcoming him was not the sight of his lovely wife but instead the pulchritudinous queen of Erebus, Queen Beryl.  
Endymion shot up.  "What the hell are you doing in my bed?"

Beryl laughed uproariously.  "The question, my dear prince, is what are you doing in _mine_?"

Endymion looked around.  Indeed, he was not at home in his own bed.  The golden curtains didn't greet him; he instead was on a pure crimson bed, in a huge room decorated in shades of crimson and yellow.

Endymion looked up at Beryl, his eyes narrowed.  "How the hell did I get here?"

"Oh, I don't know!  When I came home from my exploits I was greeted by the sight of you laying in my bed, all wrapped up like a Christmas present!  Of course," she said, with a sly grin, "the better present would have been you _unwrapped_."

Endymion ignored her quip.  "Let me out of here," he said.  "You've no claim on me."

"Wait a minute!"  Beryl said.  Endymion noticed what she was wearing – a slinky dressing gown – and turned his eyes away.  The sight of her in such a state of undress made him sick, and he longed for Serenity in her lovely negligees.  "You're a prisoner of war, dear Endymion, I just can't let you _go_."

"A prisoner of war?"

"I've decided to declare war on your country," she said sweetly.  "But hey – when you capture the king, doesn't that mean you win?  And from what I hear," she said, her voice souring, "you're not just a rook anymore."

Endymion felt his anger flare.  "You're crazy, woman," he said, rising.  He walked towards the door—

—and felt a terrible pain course through his body as he reached it.  He collapsed to the floor, unable to stand the pain anymore.

"Oops," Beryl said, rising and striding to where the king lay.  He rose, backing away from the door.  "Did I forget to mention?  I have a little magic of my own, lying in these talented hands of mine."  She smiled seductively.  "Shall I show you how talented they are?"

"Don't even _think_ about touching me."

"I forgot, you're a married man now."  Beryl shook her head.  "Pity such a man should be unavailable so early in life.  No matter, though – I'll take care of that soon enough."

A messenger came to the door.  "Your highness," he said, "the generals say the girl has been found.  They haven't touched her, per your request."

"Ah," Beryl said.  "Where is she?"

"She?"  Endymion looked at the messenger.  "Serenity?"

"The princess is located about twenty kilometers outside of the capital, traveling south southeast."

_She was following me,_ Endymion thought.  _I must go to her!_

"Here's where the _fun_ begins," Queen Beryl said, clapping her hands.  "I'm ready to leave.  I want an envoy to accompany me only partway – I want to have a heart-to-heart with the dear queen.  Girl talk, you know."  Beryl smiled and followed the messenger to the doorway.

"Oh," she said, turning back to the young king of Elysian inside the doorway.  "I wouldn't try that escape maneuver again, your highness.  You know, they say a sign of insanity is trying the same thing over and over when it doesn't work?"  She smiled.  "Look at your wrists."

Endymion did.  Two thick black wristbands had been placed on them.

"They read mental impulses.  Go through any doorway with the intention to escape and you'll be zapped by about two million volts of raw dark energy," Beryl said.  "That hurts a lot, as you well know.  The higher the intention, the higher the voltage.  That can get to be pretty deadly."

She smirked, cocking her head to the side.  "Which leaves you sort of imprisoned in my bedroom."


	12. The Seeds

The Seeds 

***

"Hungry, Silvanus?"  Serenity raised her hand and fed the young unicorn some of the horse food she had brought with her.  She almost thought to ration the food, but realized there was no need.  She had brought more money than she'd need for ten lifetime searches, and could buy more food when she needed it.

Their search had gone well.  They were most certainly on the track of the king now.  On the way, they had asked a group of kind men herding sheep on a hill.  The men replied that given the route the young queen was on, they would guess their king was headed for Thessaly for refuge from the evil Erebese queen.  The kingdom was the farthest from Erebus and had always established peaceful relations with Elysian.  They told her she would have to continue to the southeast, and cross a sea – they offered her money for the fare, but she thanked them and told them she had enough.

So Serenity had continued to the southeast, and came to rest in a field with tall grasses.  The wide savannah, she had been told, covered much of the space between Elysian and Babylon, the next kindgom over.  She had been warned by a young woman at a well to be careful in Babylon – the queen there was afraid of Beryl and therefore had little to do with Elysian or its king.

"I'm glad we paused to rest," she said.  The four maidservants had provided her with portable bedding to sleep on, and the queen and her steed had made bed home under the stars last night.  "I was so tired – I might have started to wander in the opposite direction!  There doesn't seem to be many people along this way."

"You're right, my dear queen; along this way it's just you and I."

Serenity started and turned around.  Riding towards her on a huge black stallion adorned with jewels and a saddle blanket as luxurious as Silvanus' was a handsome young woman.  She stopped a few feet from Serenity, dismounting smartly.  Although she was only a few inches taller than the Elysian queen, she had a more stately air about her – that of a queen distinguished in politics and military.  Her hair was fiery in color, her eyes an intense hazel.

Serenity just knew that it was the queen of Erebus, Beryl, who faced her.

"Queen Serenity, monarch of Elysian."  The queen smiled.  "I always thought it was I who would hold that title first."

Serenity rose to her feet.  "Are you Queen Beryl of Erebus?"

The other queen cackled.  "So you've heard of me."  Beryl cocked her head at the younger woman.  "What is an innocent young woman like you doing wandering about in a place like this?"

"I'm seeking my husband," Serenity said courageously.

Beryl laughed raucously.  "Seeking another one, I hope," she said scornfully.  "After the burning wound and deadly infection you gave the one you had, I doubt he'll want anything to do with you now."

"You know where Endymion is?"

"Of course I know where he is."  The queen smirked.  "My palace is the first place he fled when he became ill."  
  


"He's ill?"  
  


"No wonder he fled you; you don't listen.  Didn't I just tell you that burn you gave him became infected?  He's very sick; delirious, almost.  Came stumbling into my palace in the wee hours of the morning.  So short was his notice I had to place him in my own bed until I could get a guest chamber ready for him."

_Endymion spent the night in this gorgeous woman's bed,_ Serenity thought.  She willed the tears away.

"But really," Beryl continued, staring Serenity up and down, "you are so plain and ill-favored a girl that you will never be able to get another lover, except by the most diligent and painful service.  I will therefore show my good will to you by training you in such ways."

Beryl closed her eyes and raised her hands.  Black power crackled between them, and in minutes, Serenity's unicorn and her provisions had disappeared.  In their place lay a huge mountain of seeds.

"Silvanus!" Serenity cried, running to the place he'd been.  "What did you do to him?"

"The unicorn hasn't been harmed, dear Serenity; after all, he is the king's horse.  After divorce, the possessions of the husband no longer belong to the ex-wife."

"Divorce?"

"You really think Endymion would take you back after your betrayal?"  Beryl guffawed.  "Dear child, you really are delusional."

"What are all of thses seeds here for?" Serenity queried.

"Remember, I hold the key to Endymion," Beryl replied.  "If you ever want to see him again to even _try_ to persuade him to take you back, do my bidding.  By nightfall these must all be sorted.  See to it for your own sake."

With that, she and her own stallion vanished into thin air.

Serenity stared at the place Beryl had been, mouth open in wonderment.  She stared up at the sky.  The sun was high in the sky, directly over her head; it was close to noon.  She had less than eight hours to sort the massive pile of seeds.

She stared at the pile of seeds besides her.  Picking one out, she sighed miserably.  She could barely see the seed in her hand.  It was tiny!  The seeds did not seem to have much difference between them – they were seeds to Terran vegetation.

With a sob, Serenity sat on the ground, wretched.  She was lost in the middle of nowhere, with no food and water, and no way to get back home.  More than that, she had an evil task given to her by a crazy sorceress-queen.  It was of no use to start a task so manifestly impossible.

Serenity sat for quite a while, until she heard a lilting voice above her.  "Miss?  Is something the matter?"

Serenity looked up.  Standing above her was a young woman who looked about her age.  The girl had shoulder-length indigo hair and bright blue eyes, wide with youth and exuberance.  She had on the dress of a simple country girl, a sack slung over her shoulder, and was standing next to a mule that she'd ostensibly been riding.

A strong aura emanated from this girl, and Serenity felt calmed by it, secure enough to reply to the girl.

"I've been asked to sort these seeds," Serenity said, pointing to the mountain, "but I've the world's most purple thumb.  I don't know anything about seeds – I can barely see them, much less distinguish between them."

The young girl put her sack down on the ground and walked to the pile of seeds.  It was taller than her.  "Let me see," she said.  "Perhaps I can see..."

She picked several seeds from the pile.  "Millet...poppy...wheat...mustard...whoever asked you to complete this task picked several of the smallest seeds in the world."  She chuckled.  "But the job can be done."

"How?"

The girl smiled and shook her head.  She sat on the ground, next to the queen.

"I'll tell you – but I don't think we've been properly introduced," she said, smiling.  "My name is Ami.  What's yours?"

"I'm Serenity."

"Serenity.  It's nice to meet you, Serenity."  Then she looked up.  "Isn't Serenity the name of the queen of Elysian?"

"That's me."

Ami's eyes sparkled with amusement, but she said nothing about the queen's predicament.  "I'm not from around here.  My home country is far away from here – Thessaly."

"That's where I was headed!"

"Really?"  Ami looked around Serenity, then back down to the dirt.  "How were you going to get there, with no animals or food?"

"My provisions were stolen by...marauders."

"I'm so sorry."  She turned back to the pile of seeds.  "There are seven different varieties of seeds, I believe...so they'll have to be separated into seven different piles.  Allow me to calculate the force needed..."

"Force of what?" Serenity asked.

"Water, of course."  Ami knelt in front of Serenity, pointing to the hill of seeds again.  "Water has the most amazing properties.  It wears away; it builds up.  It restores, and it destroys.  Most important to us, it has forces that sort and strain through – water is the ultimate purifier, and it goes through every nook and cranny, gauging even the most subtle differences."

Serenity smiled, clapping her hands.  "Of course!" she exclaimed.  "But how can you get water to help me sort my seeds?"

Ami smiled, then clasped her hands together, taking on a prayerful stance.  "_God of wisdom and trickery, Mercury, lend me the power to help a companion_," she whispered.  "_Bless my powers of water control.  Mercury, oh god of travelers, protect a poor soul who was slighted in your art!_"

Serenity's mouth dropped open.  Ami's body had taken on a shimmery blue aura.  She opened her eyes peacefully.  "Mercury has given us his blessing," she said, smiling.  "He's my patron god, since I travel around so much."

Ami raised her hands, and once again, she glowed with a bright blue aura.  Suddenly, a tremendous stream of water gushed from behind her figure.  It split around her, splashing in waves, and flowed towards the hill.  But instead of overtaking the myriad seeds, the water wove through them, splitting into seven different rivers – and carrying the seeds of each type into the different piles.  Little by little, the mountain of seeds was wearing away, breaking into smaller piles where all the seeds were the same.

"Oh, thank you!"  Serenity threw her arms around Ami's neck, squeezing her tightly.  "Thank you so much!"

Ami nodded and patted Serenity's hands.  "Thank Mercury."

***

"So, how did you get so far away from _your_ home?  Thessaly is very far, from what I've heard."

Ami had sat by Serenity's side, deciding to stay with her until the rivers were finished with their task.  Water, she explained, took much time to do its work.  She shared a little of the food she had in the pocket of her dress with the hungry queen, who hadn't had a chance to eat much before Beryl had stolen her goods.  In return, Serenity had told her the true story of how she got to be in the meadow.

At the queen's question, Ami lowered her eyes.

"It wasn't easy," she confessed.  "My father is a powerful envoy of the gods – that's why Mercury aided us, I think.  My father is Aeolus, the King of the Winds, and he's helped Mercury many times by protecting his travelers from the treacherous winds."

"Your father is the King of the Winds?"

"Mmm-hmm," Ami affirmed.  "He decided to reside in Thessaly for a while, where he met my mother and had me.  My mother died when I was young, so I was brought up with my father for quite some time.  We lived near the sea.  He showed me the ways of the waters."  She turned her eyes away, a sad look crossing them.  "I always wished for control them, but got my wish too late.  So many people have died in the perilous seas..."

Serenity smiled comfortingly as she noticed the girl's distress.  "Did someone very close to you...pass away...because of the waters?"

Ami took a deep breath, but didn't answer.

"Tell me," she said.  "No doubt I can sympathize.  My own husband was stolen away by a wicked queen, and he's severely ill because of me."

Ami breathed again, and looked up at the queen.  "It's a long story," she warned.

Serenity pointed to the diligently working ants.  "They're only about halfway finished.  I doubt your story won't be done by nightfall."

Ami smiled sadly and nodded, and began to tell her tale.


	13. The Waters

The Waters 

***

"Ami, will you marry me?"

Ami shrieked with happiness as she stared into the emerald eyes of her lover.  "Oh, yes, yes!" she answered, jumping into his arms.  He hugged her tightly.

Tears of happiness coursed down her cheeks.

"We'll be the happiest couple to ever rule Thessaly," he said.  "My father will take to you.  You'll make a fine queen, beautiful and wise all in one."

Ami blushed deeply at her love's assertion.  "Zoisite, you're just trying to flatter me," she said shyly.

"Of course not, my love.  It's not flattery when it really is true."

***

"Father, Ami has agreed to marry me."

"Splendid!"  The king smiled at his son and drew him closer.  "When's the wedding?"

Zoisite laughed.  "Whenever we feel like planning it."

"As methodical as that woman is?  You'll be married in a week."

Zoisite laughed again, exultant over his imminent marriage.

"Now I must go consult the oracle," he said, "just like you did when you got married to Mother, and as Grandfather did."

"You know," said King Lucifer, stroking his chin, "when I first proposed to your mother, Thessaly wasn't quite as prosperous as it is now.  And when your grandfather went, it was because Thessaly was not much more than a city.  The kingdom is well established, my son; there really is no need for you go to the oracle."

"It's tradition, Father," Zoisite insisted.  "You do know that the gods hate broken tradition."

"Yes, but I didn't ask your mother to marry me at quite so dangerous a time," King Lucifer answered.  "It's the stormy season, and Beryl's ordered a halt on travel.  You'll have to cross the sea to get to Elysian, and that's dangerous at this time of year."

Zoisite shook his head.  "Hera's on my side.  I'm getting married!  She'll allow me to cross safely.  I'll sacrifice every day, I swear."

Lucifer sighed.  "You are a grown man, and will be king soon," he replied.  "It's time you began to do as you wished.  I just wish that your wishes were a bit more practical."

Zoisite laughed as he practically skipped from his father's chambers.  "Don't worry, father," he said, "I'll be perfectly safe."

*****

"No, Zoisite!  Not now!"

"Ami, love, it's tradition in our family to speak to the Delphic oracle when about to enter marriage."  Zoisite took his betrothed's hands and squeezed them tightly, smiling at her.  "Don't worry.  Love and the gods are on my side.  They bless those in love, remember?"

"Not now, Zoisite!" Ami insisted.  "It's the stormy, rainy season.  You'll have to cross the ocean to get to the spaceport in Elysian, the only one doing outgoing flights to the Moon now.  A storm could catch your boat at sea and break it to pieces!"

Zoisite chuckled softly, amused not by her words but rather by the force of her love for him.  "I'll be all right, I promise you," he said.  "Thessalians are sea-faring people.  My ship's crew will be some of the best."

"No matter how good they are, the winds have a singular fury," Ami said.  "You know my father is Aeolus, King of the Winds.  I grew up in a palace close to the sea.  I used to watch the way the winds whipped the water during a storm, so strong, fierce!  Lightning often set the ships afire and broke them up; many times I've seen the planks washed up on the shore.  Can your crew defy the forces of nature?"

"We've sailed through storms before," Zoisite replied.

"Not duing the rainy season!"

"Ami, I assure you, we'll be fine.  But I have to go.  The Erinnyes would take revenge for me breaking tradition," he joked.

Ami shook her head.  "At least take me with you," she pleaded.  "I can endure whatever comes to us together."

Zoisite really laughed at that.  "Never!" he said.  "Although it won't be as dire as you put it, there will be some danger involved, and I won't have my beautiful future wife harmed."

"Better us together than you alone."

Zoisite shook his head, wrapping his arms around his fiancee, his eyes filled with love for her.  "I can't do it, Ami," he answered.  "I can't allow you to go with me.  You must stay here...stay with my family, Ami, and wait for me.  It will take me but a short while, and when I return, we'll have the most splendid marriage in the history of Thessaly.  The subjects will talk about it for years, decades, centuries!"

Ami smiled a little.  "Just promise me you'll come home safe, Zoisite."

"I promise, dear, I promise with all my love – with my soul!"

***

"Prince, would you like us to...my prince?"

Zoisite turned to the first mate, his pale blond hair fluttering in the windy morning air.  "Sorry...I'm a bit distant this morning, mate.  What would you like?"

"Daydreaming about your fiancee, your highness?"

Zoisite laughed, the laugh of a deeply happy man.  "Is it that obvious?"  His features darkened, however, when he looked back at the shore.  A tiny figure stood on the beach in a solitary vigil.  She had sworn to stand on the shore until she could no longer see the ship.

"She was so melancholy when I left."

"Just afraid for your welfare, your highness."

"No, it was deeper than that..."  He squinted, trying desparately to clarify the picture of his lover.  "It's as if...as if...she could see what was in store."

*****

"Ami!  You've been sitting in the conservatory all day.  You can't see the ship with that weak telescope, can you?"

Ami giggled a little as she looked up to see Zoisite's personal maidservant.  "No," she admitted.  "But I can certainly try."

"Don't be so frightened," the maidservant said, bending by Ami's side.  She stroked her pale cheek until the younger woman turned to face her.  "His crew is well trained – my nephew is part of the crew, and I well know that he's well trained at one of the best academise for mariners.  And he's low on the ship's repertoire!  They've recruited the best seafarers for this mission, and you listen here – they'll be absolutely fine.

"Besides," she added, smiling mischievously, "if you worry too much, you'll have wrinkles for your wedding!"

Ami's smile widened at that.  "I need something pass the days until he returns, so I _won't_ get all wrinkly by the time he returns."

"What better way for a bride to spend her days than by weaving her bridal gown?"

Ami's countenance brightened, and she threw her arms around the maidservant.  "That would be wonderful!  Will you help me, Eos?  I've never woven a bridal gown before – but I want it to be the most beautiful gown ever worn!  I want Zoisite to be filled with rapture when he sees me dressed in it.  I want to make him happy and his voyage worth the trouble."

"Then, girl, we must look at bridal cloths," she replied.  "Let's go!"

*****

Zoisite lounged in the captain's office, staring at a picture of Ami.  All was going well; the voyage to Elysian would soon be over, and he would be able to return home to his beloved.  He was lonely for her – wished to hold her in his arms.

"Pining over a lost love, your highness?"

Zoisite jumped at the voice, the chair he had leaned back crashing to the floor.  He scuttled away from the desk on his back.  A hideous woman was seated on the desk, hair wild, clothed in furs, lips blood-red.

"Maenad!"

"Crying for the loss of your love, your highness?" she repeated maliciously.

"My love is fine and well, waiting for me at home."

"Your Ami is dying."

"No!"  Zoisite pounded his fist against the board of the ship.  "She was perfectly fine when I left!  She is well!"

"You broke her heart with your leaving!"  The Maenad pointed a bloody, accusing finger at the prince.  "She dies from heartsickness caused by you!"

Zoisite turned pale, eyes widening.  "No," he whispered.

"It is not just.  The Erinnyes have promised to bring curses upon your head."

Zoisite let out a cry.

"Why waste both lives?  You know the mandate: a soul for a soul."  Her lips curved into a malevolent smile.  "Sell your soul by the Styx to the Underworld and, by the Styx, hers will be saved."  She held up an ethereal, illusory white sheet.

A contract for his soul.

Zoisite nodded fiercely.  "I'll do anything to save her life!  I swear by the Styx to give my life for Ami's!"

"Fine and good," the Maenad said, smirking.  The contract exploded with bright light, and when it faded, Zoisite's name appeared on the bottom of it.  "Word is bond.  The Erinnyes' storm shall come tonight and sweep your life away.  Your soul will belong to Erebus.  Your beloved will live."

"That will kill everyone on the ship!"

The Maenad broke into uproarious laughter, disappearing from sight.

***

"Batten down the hatches!"

The first mate ran across the decks, dodging huge hailstones, calling instructions to his crew.  A fierce hurricane had suddenly started, and the boat was rocking perilously, ready to toss them overboard – already a few young men had been dashed into the stormy seas.

After seeing that everyone on the ship had a duty to do, the first mate ran to take his report to the captain.

The mate found his princely captain standing at the side of the ship in the exact spot he stood while waving goodbye to his young lover, tears streaming down his eyes as he stared vacantly over the sea.

"Your highness, it's dangerous by shipside!  Come underneath so you won't get swept under!"

Zoisite shook his head, then turned to the first mate.  His eyes were brimming with fresh tears.  "It was as if she could foresee the future."

The first mate lowered his eyes.

"There is no hope."

"No, sir.  This is a rocky area.  I'm surprised—"

He was cut short by the violent jolting of the ship.  Both men were thrown to the floor.  Zoisite skidded across the deck, ramming into the massive mast in the center of the ship.

"—we haven't hit a rock-mass yet," the mate yelled, his eyes filling with tears.  He crossed his heart.

Zoisite shook his head.  Christians.

The rest of the men were crying out – calling to the gods they called patrons in the Greek pantheon.  Zoisite even heard calls to Jesus, Allah, Buddha...he tried frantically to call to mind a proper name in the sea of screamed deities.  But as the ship sank lower into the raging maelstrom tossed by the hurricane winds tossing inside the rock circle the ship had drifted into, he could only think of one:

"Ami..."

*****

"Your wedding gown is turning out beautifully, Ami.  In a few days it will be ready to try on and altered!"

Ami smiled brightly.  "Thank you for your kind compliments.  I'm an average seamstress, I'm afraid."

"You're a natural."  Eos patted the young lady's head.  "Get some sleep now.  If you sew anymore today, your hands will fall off!"

Ami laughed.  "I'll go to sleep, Eos – as soon as I say my nightly prayers."

Eos smiled.  "Good night, then."

"Good night."

As the older woman left, Ami carefully folded her bridal gown into the jeweled trunk that her father had purchased for that specific purpose.  She then knelt by her bedside, folding her hands and bowing her head in supplication to the gods.

"Hera, guardian of women and marriage," she prayed, "and Mercury, god of travelers, hear my pleas.  My love, Zoisite, journeys across the treacherous ocean to see an oracle about pressing matters.  Please protect him in his quest."

***

"Poor wife...look, your husband is here."  The dream-god, commissioned by Hera, whispered into Ami's ear with the voice of her beloved.

Ami tossed in her sleep.  "Zoisite..." she mumbled.

"Do you know me or is my face changed in death?"

"Death...?"

"I am dead, Ami."

"Dead..."

"Your name was on my lips when the waters overwhelmed me."  
"Waters..."

"There is no hope for me anymore.  But give me your tears.  Let me not go down to the shadowy land unwept."

Ami moaned, stretching her arms out to capture her betrothed and clasp him near.  "Wait for me!  I will go with you!"

With a start, she woke to the sound of her own cries and sobs.  Wretched, she rolled from her bed, thumping heavily to the floor, wailing for the death of her beloved.

"Could I stay here when his dear body is tossed about in the waves?" she wailed.  "I will not leave you, my husband; I will not try to live!"


	14. The Coup

The Coup 

***

"How horrible!" Serenity exclaimed, her hand covering her mouth.  "Engaged to be married, and your fiancé _died_!"  She had to admit that her situation was better than poor Ami's; at least her husband was still alive.  "But it was just a dream!  How did you know for sure that he was dead?"

"I tried to kill myself," Ami said sadly, her eyes still cast on the ground.  "I couldn't bear to live without my beloved!  When I went to the harbor, I saw Zoisite's body washing up to the shores.  I ran and leapt into the water, not swimming, but allowing myself to be swallowed by the waters.

"Suddenly, however, the waters split away from me, and I was glowing with a bright blue light!"  She smiled a little, her expression still melancholy.  "Mercury blessed me with control over the waters.  But too late.  My beloved was gone.

"Staying in Thessaly – the kingdom I was supposed to rule with my beloved – was too painful, so I traveled this far.  Just to travel...maybe to find repose in Elysian."

Serenity sighed.

Ami cast her gaze to the waters separating the seeds. "It's almost finished," she commented.

Serenity turned to the waters.  Indeed, the initial pile of seeds was very tiny, and the mounds of separated seeds were great.

"I'd better leave before Beryl returns and realizes what happened," Ami said, smiling as she stood and dusted off her skirts.  "It was pleasing to make your acquaintance, Queen Serenity.  I wish you luck in your future endeavors."

Serenity stood and threw her arms around the young girl.  Upon taking her hold, she felt a mysterious warmth course through her body.  "Thank you so much, Ami," she said, her voice taking on the quality of sob.  "I could have never done this without you."

Ami squeezed her shoulders, nodding.  "It was my pleasure, my queen," she said, mounting her mule, continuing on in the way she was going.

Serenity turned towards Ami.  After thinking a bit, she cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled in her direction.

"I am Serenity – only Serenity, not any pretentious title to such a great friend!"

*****

"Endymion, do not despair so.  Serenity wouldn't want you to lose all hope."

"What hope do I have?"  Endymion threw his hands up, turning away from the priest.  "Beryl has us both imprisoned, both by brute force and magical means.  She is probably tormenting my beloved – if she hasn't killed her yet.  All is lost – all because of my stupid desires!"  He buried his face in his hands.  "Why couldn't I have listened to you and not given into my want?"

"It wasn't just desire that led you to Serenity," Helios said, laying a pale hand on the king's shoulder.  "You love her.  Deeply.  I feel it coming from you.  And surely Serenity can feel it too – as long as you keep loving her.  She'll be able to withstand it.  She has strength in that heart of hers.  Keep faith in her...I sensed another power deep within, too..."

Endymion looked to his priest.  "What...kind?"

The priest shook his head.  "That I don't know.  But it's definitely stronger than Beryl's.  If she discovers it within herself, she may be able to conquer Beryl and save us all – you, me, and your four generals trapped by Beryl's brainwashing."

*****

Beryl groaned, her chin in her hand, her lovely features marred by a frown on her face.  Seven neat piles of seeds sat behind a very complacent princess, with her hands folded in her lap.

With a scowl, Beryl turned back to the princess.  "I don't know how you pulled this stunt, but hear me now: your work is by no means over," she snarled.

Serenity's eyes widened with shock.  "B-b-but you said if I finished this task, I could see Endymion!"

Beryl waved her hand.  "I did not," she said.  "I said that if you wanted to see him again, you would sort them.  I never said that by this work you _would_.  Your work is not over yet:; you have much to learn in the lines of service!"

"Please!" cried Serenity, stepping towards the queen.  "Allow me to see my beloved husband!"

The appellation only infuratied Beryl.  Hot jealousy coursed through her body.  With mounting anger, she hurled a dry piece of bread at the princess.  "You deserve less than what the lowest dog deserves!  Eat this to sustain yourself; sleep in the fields.  Tomorrow morning I will appear to give you your second task!"

She disappeared in a whirlwind of black flames curling around her.

Serenity looked at the crusty bread in her hands.  A tear wet the crust.  Her shoulders shaking, the queen collapsed in a fit of sobs to the earth below.

*****

"Her _beloved husband_!"  Beryl hurled the glass of wine she held in her hands at the wall, the wine spattering the wall and the glass flying everywhere.  "How dare she address what's _mine_ in that manner!"

Her fist tightened as visions danced through her mind – visions of the miserable little moon princess holding _her_ man, clutching him to her, kissing the lips and body that Beryl had not yet touched with her own.  Tears of fury, jealousy, and despair rolled down her cheeks.

She'd been in love with Endymion since she first saw him when he and his father arrived to negotiate with her father.  Being her father's only heir to the kingdom, she was present during all discussion.  She'd loved not only his divine form but his dual nature – the ability to switch between fiery and argumentative to sweet and diplomatic.  He'd always been civilized but cold towards her.

She'd endeavored to win his heart – dressing in her finest garments and showing him how intelligent and crafty she could be.  A perfect match to his political strategy.

But like herself, his heart had been stolen on first sight – but not by her.  By that miserable little moon princess.

Beryl threw herself down to her bed, the tears coming with full force.  She could hardly believe she was crying, but she couldn't help it – her love for Endymion was strong.  She desired him, wanted him, coveted him.  He was _hers_.

"How may I convince that hard-hearted man to forget his love for that stupid moon girl?" She sniffled, sitting up.  "If I tell him she's dead, he'll blame me and will never love me.  But if he knows she is still alive, he won't stop hoping for her.  I'll always be second-best – second to a pale moon princess!"

She punched the bedpost.  "How could he choose her over me?  The only way to rid his mind of her would be to control his soul—"

Beryl stopped in her tracks as she considered that thought.  "Control his soul...that's the ticket," she said.  "Those four – the four generals – I control their souls, and thus their thought.  Of course the same could be done to Endymion.  And what better way but by the way I took the souls of his generals?"

The queen thought better of it, and shook her head.  "Tantalizing as that is, I don't want to control his soul.  I want him to love me purely."

She sighed deeply.  "This dilemma will take time to solve.  Time...and plenty of observation."

*****

"Tiger Eye, look across the fields!  See who's coming!"

Tiger Eye shook his head and looked at Hawk Eye, his fellow guard.  Then he turned to the meadows before him.

A huge army in black was advancing upon them.

"The Erebese!"  The two guards exchanged shocked glances.  "Endymion must be hurt!  They can see the palace – and us!"

The two moved to run inside the palace and warn the staff.

"Halt!" cried a hard, stately voice.  The four black stallions in front of the army quickened, advancing upon the two frightened guards.

"Halt this!"  Hawk Eye thrust forth a hand, a thin stream of fire emanating from it.

The rider in front held a hand up.  A pink flash burst from his hand, and the fire dissolved before it did any damange.

The two guards looked at each other in alarm.

"Open the palace doors," said the effeminate general, "and let us in, boys."

*****

"So," said Beryl, clasping her hands together in mirth, "this is the magnificent Golden Palace."

Endymion shot a haggard look at Beryl.  He had dark circles under his eyes – he'd unable to sleep for days, and his infection flared up and died at intervals.  Right now, he felt sicker than he'd ever felt – Beryl was invading his sanctuary, the only place he'd been able to keep from her for years.

"And I have a beautiful little moon princess to thank for all this."

Beryl turned to gauge Endymion's reaction.  His face faltered a bit, but there was no signs of anger, just despair.  And a slight quality of longing in his eyes.  She'd resorted to bashing the princess's character and blaming the king's hardship upon her, but any mention of her only lighted a fire in Endymion's eyes, reminding him that she was still alive.

"Call for your head maidservants," she ordered him.

Endymion turned away from her, scowling.  A jolt of pain caused him to cry out.

He sighed heavily.  "Ceres, Juno, Pallas, Vesta!"

Loud shrieks came from down the hallway.  "King Endymion, Queen Serenity!  You've returned!"

As they rushed into the foyer, they saw that it was not as they expected it to be.  Four different reactions ensued.  Ceres' eyes fell to the ground; Pallas buried her face in her hands and broke into sobs.  Vesta narrowed her eyes at the dark queen.  Juno balled her hands into fists.

"King Endymion, yes, but not Serenity, I fear," the queen said.  "Endymion's brought a bit of company, quite unannounced, I'm afraid, but that's okay: this magnificent palace seems big enough to hold a few servants I've brought along."  She smiled brightly.  "Get rooms ready for about 100 guards and servants."

"You're not our queen; we don't take any orders from you!" Juno shouted at Beryl.  "Our queen is Serenity – Endymion's _true_ love!"

"Insolent!"  Beryl raised her hand, fully intending to throw a fatal force of black magic at the dissenter.

"Beryl, please, no!" Endymion said, lumbering forward in the path of her hand.  Beryl quickly lowered her hand; she had no desire to kill Endymion.  "Don't hurt any of them, please, I beg you."

The girls stared at their king.  They'd never seen him so worn-down.  Juno gasped, most of all touched by the king's self-sacrificing spirit.

"I'll make sure they follow your orders."

"See to it!"

Endymion turned to the four girls.  "You have to do what she says – she's not afraid to hurt or kill any one of you," she says.  "Follow any orders she gives you, or one of her ranking servants.  Please.  For your sakes.  I couldn't bear to lose any one of you," he added, with a sheepish little smile.

Ceres crossed her arms, trying to supress the small smile springing to her own lips.

"Fine," Vesta said, pressing her lips together and crossing her own arms.  A gathering of servants had begun to form in the main hall, trailed by trains of magic in all different colors of the rainbow.  She turned to them, switching to speak in the tongue of her country.  "Staff, we have guests," she said, spitting the word _guests_ as if it were bitter wormwood.  "Prepare the king's room and extra room for one hundred."  She shot a look at Queen Beryl.  "Make that one hundred one."

"No, just one hundred," Beryl said, smiling.  "Endymion has invited me to have the use of his bedroom, haven't you, my king?"  She gestured maliciously towards the multitude of servants that had gathered in the hall.

Endymion sighed, staring at the floor.

"Yes," he mumbled through clenched teeth.

Beryl raised her eyes triumphantly to the service.

Vesta narrowed her eyes angrily at the queen, and turned to direct the service to do her bidding.


	15. The Fleece

The Fleece 

***

"Awaken, girl."

Serenity opened her eyes and looked up at the queen who stood above her, in a silken black robe closed by a sash and soft sandals.  She looked as if she had just awoken herself.

"It took me quite a while to think of this next task for you, and I arose from our bed to give it to you."

"Our?"

"Endymion has not parted from it yet.  Only he's decided to take me to his palace instead of stay at mine the whole time."  She sound giddy, if a little insincere, but Serenity didn't hear the insincerity.  She focused only on the message, and turned away from the woman.

"In any event, here is your task."  She walked around the disheveled princess, smirking as she looked her up and down.  The night outside, exposed to the elements, had not done Serenity any justice.  Her makeup was gone, her dress was dirty, and there were dark circles under her eyes.  Although she was still splendidly beautiful, some of her radiance had dissipated.

_Keeping her on this track may dissolve that gods-damned beauty for good,_ Beryl thought to herself.

"Across the way – in the island kingdom of Cyprus – there is a river in a glen.  Down there near the riverbank, where the bushes grow thick, are sheep with fleeces of gold.  Go fetch me some of their shining wool."

"How am I supposed to get to the river in Cyprus?" asked Serenity.  Maybe after this trial, Beryl would allow her to see her husband.

Beryl waved her hand, and a mule appeared before her.  "This animal will take you there and disappear once you arrive at the ferry.  There a small canoe will be.  Row across the placid waters to the island of Cyprus.  The mouth of the river is on the bank you'll land on.  Follow the flow to the thicket of bushes."  She disappeared with a wave of her hand.

Serenity sighed, and mounted the mule, which started at its slow pace towards the shore of the wilderness.

***

Serenity stumbled out of the canoe and watched it vanish behind her.  Her arms were aching with the rowing movements, and she felt ready to collapse with fatigue at that very moment.  But love and the thought of seeing the object of her own drove her on.

She followed the river for what seemed like an endless amount of time until finally she saw the thick bushes, and a congregation of golden-fleeced sheep.

There were several rams, and horned ewes.  They rushed at each other with great force, smacking into each other with their horns, fiercely turning on anything that approached them.

Despairing, Serenity fell to the ground.  How could she approach such fierce sheep?

She turned to the side, and looked at the river.  She couldn't see the bottom, and it was a wide, swift-moving river.  Surely if she were to jump in, it would sweep her away to death.

She stood, stared down into the river, and stepped atop a slippery rock on the bank.  Leaning forward, she thrust herself towards the river, closing her eyes on the world.

She felt a floating sensation.  _This must be what the underworld feels like,_ she said to herself.  She opened her eyes to see the darkness, but instead saw the surroundings of the glen, the fierce sheep, and the river flowing quickly beneath her feet.

She felt herself move backwards, and she was set on the grass.  Two hands took her shoulders and twisted her around, and Serenity found herself facing a lovely young woman with long violet hair and beautiful, deep violet eyes.  Her skin was clear and fine, and her body was perfectly sculpted.

She smiled at the Serenity.  "Don't drown yourself," she said to her.  "Things can't be that bad."

"They are bad," Serenity sobbed, wiping a tear from her eyes.  "I've been ordered to get fleece from those sheep – they'll kill me if I touch them!"

"You won't have to _touch_ the sheep at all," the young lady said.  "Animals are easily distracted and attracted by bright things.  All you've got to do is bring them through the thicket of brambles over there, and some of the fleece will be torn off their backs.  Then, lure them away from the brambles, and you can go collect the fleece over there."

Serenity smiled weakly.  "Yes, that would work...but how could I do that?"

The girl smiled.  "Something bright and moving...like fire."

"I have no matches, nor dry tinder."

"You need neither."  She cocked her head at Serenity.  "My name is Rei.  What's yours?"

"Serenity."

"Isn't that the name of the princess of the moon?"

"That's me."

Rei's smile brightened.  "Well, to oblige royalty!"  She curtseyed a little, and when she rose, she clasped her hands together prettily.  Closing her eyes, she began to speak, glowing with a fierce red aura.

"_God of war and agriculture, Mars, lend me the power to help a companion_," she intoned.  "_Bless my powers of fire.  Mars, oh god of farmers and herders, protect a poor soul who indulges in your art!_"

That prayer sounded strangely familiar to Serenity.

Next Rei pressed her hands together, pointing her fingers in the same direction, and shouted a few words in a foreign tongue.  She glowed brighter still, and a peal of fire shot from her fingers and set a tree besides the bramble bushes afire.

The sheep looked up, bellowed, and charged towards the brambles, frolicking through them to get to the tree.

"It will take a little while for the entire herd to get through the bushes and lose their fleece, but when they do, you can go collect plenty of it."

Serenity breathed a sigh of relief, and the pretty young lady smiled.  "Thank you so much!"

"Thank the guardian Mars."

***

"Are you from around here?  Cyprus, I mean."

Rei had sat by Serenity to watch the herds flock through the brambles and start another fire if one was necessary.  At the moment, the only fire needed was a small one to cook a bit of meat that Rei happened to have with her.  Once again, Serenity recounted the tale of how she happened to be in Cyprus in the first place, which Rei sympathized with.

"Yes."  She pointed to her gown, a beautiful garment in deep crimson.  "These are Cyprian robes – only women from around this region wear dresses like this."

"Really?  I've never seen such a beautiful gown before."

"As a princess, I can't say I believe you, your highness."

"Are you a princess, too?"

"Heavens, no!"  She laughed liltingly.  "The gown, my figure – not from royal bloodline but rather the work of a divine sculptor.  My creator gave me these fine features."

As the words left her mouth, she clapped her hands over it.

"Your...creator?" Serenity asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, dear," she said, "now I've gone and done it."

"Done what?"

"Well, now you're going to want me to tell you what I meant by that – don't you?"

Serenity nodded.  "Yes, of course – but only if you don't mind telling."

"It's a long story," Rei warned.

Serenity chuckled.  "I've got a lot of time."


	16. The Fires

The Fires 

***

"Give me a drink.  Lots of alcohol.  LOTS."

The men at the tavern laughed as the weary man dropped down at the bar.  It was a well-known fact that the man's wife was a termagant, and he usually came to the tavern for relief from her and to drink away all the problems she heaped on him.

"Liber, you've really got to stop drinking so much," said a young man sitting at the bar, smiling at the older man.  "The wife's only going to scream at you for wandering home drunk."

"At least he won't be able to hear her!  He'll be too dead drunk!"

The men at the bar roared with laughter.

"He thinks his wife is bad?  _My_ wife grills me every time I walk out the door!"

"_My_ wife always find something new for me to fix.  I think she breaks things on purpose!"

"My girlfriend hasn't talked to me in three weeks," said a lovelorn young man, resting his hand in his chin.  "She's angry at me for something – but get this, she won't tell me _what!_"

The men laughed some more.

"Gifts, gifts, gifts, that's all my love wants," said another young man.  "I wonder whether she loves me or my money!"

"Honestly, I don't understand why you men put up with them," chimed in a new voice.  The company at the bar turned to the newcomer – a young man with fluffy blond hair and blue eyes the color of a cloudless sky.  He wore a smart uniform, that of a general of the Elysian army.

"No wonder," one said, "it's the sculptor Jadeite, the talented woman-hater!"  The men broke into drunken laughter once more.

Jadeite cheerfully ignored them.  "You put up with such flaws in women.  Naggers, always negative, gold-diggers, mysterious..."

"And soon you'll put up with it too, young chap," replied a man at the bar.  "You're about the age where young men start going wild for young ladies."

"No...I'm never going to get married."

The men did a double take.  "What?!"

"Surely you must be joking."

"Who'll keep you?  Who'll take care of you?  Who will cook, clean, farm while you work?"

Jadeite shook his head.  "I can take care of myself perfectly well; I've been living alone for almost two years now.  All I need is my art and myself."

"Everyone needs affection."  Liber swallowed a glass of liquor.  "Bad as some of these women may be at their worst, they are kind and loving at their best."

Jadeite shook his head again, a grin lighting on his face.  "All I need is my art.  I'll tell you what – I've got a wager."

The men leaned in to listen.

"I bet you all a denarius that I can create a woman – a perfect statue of a woman – more beautiful than any mortal in all the earth."

The men turned to each other and nodded.  "It's a deal!"

****

"Working hard, eh, Jadeite?"

The young man looked up from the slab of marble he had before him.  "Yes...I promised, and I cannot lose a wager.  I'm on leave; I don't have five denarii to just give up!"

The man who'd come to visit chuckled.  "In any event, your statue is exquisite.  When are you going to present it to the men?"

Jadeite gave his visitor an odd look.  "When I'm finished with it."

The visitor raised an eyebrow.  "Is it not...complete?"

Jadeite looked back at the marble and laughed.  "Far from it, old man," he said.  He turned his eyes to his creation-in-process, sparkling with pride.  "There is so much refining, polishing, perfecting I need to do to make her _perfect_."

The visitor smiled.  "Then sculpt on, talented young woman-hater."

****

"Come see," Liber's voice rang out.  "Jadeite has finished his masterpiece, and he wishes us to see her."

The five men that had been at the tavern on the day of Jadeite's wager jumped excitedly, running behind Liber towards Jadeite's small dwelling on the outskirts of the city.  A throng of citizens followed them, eager to do the judging of the statue and the famed mortals of beauty.

"We'll all be one denarius richer today, fellows," one of the original five said.

"One man who went to visit said his statue is very beautiful."

"But more than any mortal woman in all the earth?  Surely you remember the faces of Helen, Coronis, Semele, Cassandra...there are many, the consorts of gods, extremely beautiful young women.  How could a woman of cold marble be more surpassing than that of flesh and blood?"

The other four shrugged, and nodded in half agreement, half apprehension.

Upon approaching Jadeite's door, one young man raised his hand to knock on it, but the gesture was unnecessary.  Jadeite's door swung open, a radiant smile on his handsome face.

"Come inside, men," he said.

The men walked into his house, looking at the simple accommodations with snickers.  As artistic and talented as young Jadeite was, anyone could see that this abode needed a woman's touch.  A large obelisk stood in the center of the humble room, covered with a tarpaulin.

Jadeite moved to the statue, and pulled the tarp from over it, revealing the finished product to all the men.

"I call her...Rei."

Five mouths dropped in surprise, gaping at the beauty of the figure.  One could nearly swear it was a real woman, with tresses and eyes of violet, and pale, milky skin that defined beauty.

"Think, men, of the faces of divine consorts," Jadeite said proudly.  "Io, Europa, Callisto...Semele, Coronis, Cassandra...even Helen, whose face began a war.  Judge honestly and justly.  Is the face of my Rei not more beautiful than these?"

A murmur spread through the crowd, and they had to agree that Jadeite's statue's beauty surpassed even those mortals.

With a triumphant smile, Jadeite turned to the four men he'd met at the bar.  "Fellows, it seems you each owe me a denarius."

****

Jadeite hopelessly looked down at the five silver coins he held in his hands.  Even five days' wages couldn't brighten his countenance today.

With a sigh, he turned back to the statue that stood in the center of house.  It was symbolic, really – the statue that occupied the center of his household also occupied the center of his heart.

Jadeite had fallen in love, deeply, passionately in love, with the thing he had made.

He stepped to it, gently tracing his finger along the contours of her heavenly body.  Rising to the tips of his toes, he kissed her lips.  Of course, they did not kiss back.  They were lifeless, made of marble.

Jadeite stepped back and surveyed the marble statue in a mixture of love and resentment.  How could his own creation have claimed his heart?

***

Over the next few weeks, Jadeite could only devote his time to his beautiful creation.  He kissed those enticing lips – they could not kiss him back.

He caressed her hands, her face – they were unresponsive.

He took her in his arms; she remained a cold and passive form.

For a time he tried to pretend, as children do with their toys.  He would dress her in rich robes, trying the effect of one delicate or glowing color after another, and imagine she was pleased.  He would bring her the gifts real maidens love, little birds and gay flowers and the shining tears of amber Phaeton's sisters weep, and then dream that she thanked him with eager affection.  He put her to bed at night, and tucked her in all soft and warm, as little girls do their dolls.

But he was not a child; he could not keep on pretending.  In the end, he gave up.  He loved a lifeless thing...and he was utterly and hopelessly wretched.

***

It was the feast day of Venus – a holiday especially honored in Cyprus, the island which first received the goddess after she rose from the sea-foam.

Lovers danced through the streets, happy to celebrate this wonderful feast day together – a day of love.  Unhappy lovers went to pray that their love would return kind; single men and women alike went to the altars to pray for a love of their own.

Later on in the festivities – when the sun was beginning to set and many were traveling home – a dark, cloaked figure trudged through the city to the temple.  He'd come late to avoid the crowd and the laughing inquiries of his friends.  The figure was Jadeite; he held a large snow-white heifer in a large sack, bringing it to the altar in the temple of Venus.

Once he arrived, still cloaked, Jadeite laid the heifer on the altar of Venus and accepted the torch from the priest.  He lit his sacrifice and instantly fell to the floor in prayer.

"Please, Venus," he prayed.  "I only pray that I may find a maiden as beautiful as my Rei.  Nothing more than that."

The fire raged up – once, twice, thrice.  Jadeite's eyes widened at the good omen.

On the third time, however, a shadowy figure appeared in the flames.  It advanced forward.  Jadeite's expression turned from appreciative to frightened, and he backed away as he realized what the creature standing before him was.

"A...Maenad."

Indeed, it was a Maenad standing before him, clothed in frazzled fur.  Her hair was wild, tossed all over her face, and her lips were reddened as though stained with blood.

"Why do you not ask for what you really want, boy?"

Jadeite frowned.  "I prayed for what I wanted.  I want...a maiden..."

"No, boy," the Maenad said.  "You want no maiden _like_ your Rei.  You want _her_ – Rei herself – for the statue to become real."

Jadeite hesitated, then shook his head.

"Ah...you know Venus cannot provide you with this wish.  She has no power over the souls of the deep.  But _Hades_ can give what you want.  A soul for your lady love."

Jadeite's mouth parted.  "A...soul?"

"Is that not what she requires to live?"

"Yes."

A dark scroll appeared in the air next to the Maenad.  She pointed to Jadeite, and it unrolled towards him.  "Agree with Hades by the Styx, and by the Styx, your love will live."

Jadeite looked down at the contract.  "That's it?"

"A soul for a soul."

Not fully understanding her answer, Jadeite picked the quill the Maenad eagerly handed him and signed at the bottom.

The contract vanished with a violent poof of black magic, and the Maenad laughed at the unsuspecting lover as she, too, faded away.

***

Thoughtful at the good omen and the strange occurrence that happened afterward, Jadeite trudged home, his chin in his hand.  What was the meaning of that strange woman?

And "A soul for a soul?"  What did she mean by that?

The young man wandered in his house, walking purposefully to the center of his room, where Rei stood.  He stared up at the statue with love in his eyes.  No matter how pitiful his situation was, he could not help loving the exquisite creation.  There she stood on her pedestal, entrancingly beautiful.  Stepping towards her, he caressed her – and started backwards.  
Was it self-deception, or did she really feel warm to his touch?

Jadeite's breath caught in his throat.  Tentatively, he stepped forwars, kissing her lips...and felt them grow soft beneath his own.  He touched her arms, her shoulders; their hardness vanished.  He clasped her wrist; blood was pulsing there.

With unutterable gratitude and joy, he put his arms around his love and saw her smile into his eyes and blush.

"Rei!" he cried.  "You're...alive!"

"Yes, my love," she said gently.  "How many days I watched you from my cold station, with eyes that could not follow you!  How long I have felt your warm lips touch mine, and wished I could kiss you back!"

"It is all right, my love...my soul," he murmured, lifting her from her pedestal to the floor besides him, "we are together, now and forever..."

The words had barely left his mouth when suddenly there was a searing pain in his body.  He cried out and stepped back from his love.  Her eyes were wide with fright.

"Jadeite!" she screamed.  "You're..._burning!_"

With pain and much effort, Jadeite lifted an arm.  His flesh was on fire.

"A soul for a soul!"

The cackling voice rang out as Jadeite, in despair, realized what he had promised.


	17. The Generals

The Generals 

***

Serenity shook her head sadly.  "I can't believe it," she said.  "Why...what happened?"

"I've no idea!" Rei exclaimed.  "He just spontaneously...combusted.  I tried to near him, but he waved me back.  'A soul for a soul', he whispered.  I don't know what he meant by that...perhaps he thought that by my soul awakening, his had to be sacrificed."

"And this gave you control over fire?"

"I didn't listen to him, and approached him," Rei continued.  "When I touched him, my hands did not catch on fire!  I held him until he died, crumpled to the ground..."  Tears were running down her cheeks now.  She batted at them with lithe fingers.

"The sheep are nearly naked," she said, with a little giggle.  
Serenity turned to the sheep.  There was golden fleece caught all over the brambles, and they did seem to be moving more sluggishly, a bit colder than they normally were.

Taking a prayerful stance again, Rei briefly closed her eyes and emitted another blast of fire a condsiderable distance from the bramble bushes.  It took a little while for the sheep to notice the tongue of fire, but once they did, they bleated and herded towards the fire.

"When they all leave, you can collect the fleece," Rei said.  "The fire will burn out on its own."

Serenity's own eyes welled with tears.  "Thank you so much," she said.

"I should leave before Queen Beryl returns and perceives what occurred."  Rei stood and arranged her skirts, then flashed a dazzling smile at Queen Serenity.  "It was very nice talking to you, Queen Serenity.  I hope you succeed in your journey."

"And you in yours," Serenity said, rising and throwing her arms around Rei.  Once again, a strong warmth overtook her...

"Thank you.  I would never have accomplished anything without your assistance."

Rei hugged her back while waving her off at the same time.  "No matter!" she exclaimed.  "I was only happy to do a service for the famed princess of the moon!"

"Only Serenity to you, my dear friend," Serenity replied.

*****

"Don't touch me!  I am not here for your unholy wishes!"

A clanging noise rang out and Pallas scuttled from the room she had been attending to Beryl's own servants in, followed closely by the servant himself.  Lifting her hands, Pallas shot a steady stream of strong blue magic towards the servant, knocking him over.

"What is going on?"

Pallas and the servant both turned to face the king.  As weary as he was, he had a stately, commanding air about him that made both of them stand up straighter.

"This maid of yours does not serve me well."

Endymion glared at the man.  Pallas opened her mouth, but Endymion shook his head.

"I shall send you another one, then."

"No...I like..."

"Fool!"  A fit of rage overtook the king, and he stormed towards the man.  "You say she does not serve you well, and yet you like?  You like what?  I shall not have you trying to impose yourself on my staff!  Get yourself on – I shall send you another maid, or you can wait on yourself!"

The manservant glared at King Endymion, then slunk off into his quarters, defeated.

Endymion sighed heavily.  Pallas ran to throw her arms around him.

"Thank you, my king," she sobbed softly.  "He was trying to..."

"I know," Endymion said, patting the young girl's head.  "The Erebese have been under the rule of Beryl for a long time, and, like her, they believe that they can do anything to anyone they please."

Pallas looked up at Endymion.  "Maybe they can, King Endymion-sama," she said.

The young king shook his head vehemently.  "No," he said.  "They can't.  No one can abuse anyone at their whim.  And we shall make sure of that."

He clenched a fist, squeezing tightly until he felt pain in his hand.  Punishment for what he allowed himself to fall into – for what he brought his kingdom's subjects into.  "We cannot allow them to abuse people forever.  We must defeat them."

*****

Beryl looked from the pile of golden fleece before her to the de-wooled sheep frolicking quite a ways away, then back again, a puzzled expression on her face.  In fury, she threw her hands in the air.

"Someone helped you!" she exclaimed.  "Never did you do this by yourself!"

Serenity looked at the floor, not wanting to concur with Beryl's words.

In frustration, Beryl shook her head, throwing her lovely auburn tresses into a whirlwind around her head.

"May I see my husband now?" Serenity asked meekly, not allowing herself to hope too much.

"No," Beryl said.  "Never did you do this by yourself.  However, I will give you an opportunity to prove that you really have the stout heart and singular prudence you make such a show of.  Tomorrow I shall give you another task.  Good night."  A flash of crackling black lightning, and she was gone from Serenity's sight.

Serenity stared at the place where Beryl had been, then reached into a fold in her dress.  There she has stored a bit of the meat Rei had left her.  She must be strong; her weakness had destroyed her relationship with her husband and chased him away.  This time she would stand strong, and she would prevail.

*****

As Queen Beryl stomped into the war room of the palace, the four generals that had been reclining at the ornate table stood in salute.  General Zoisite rolled his eyes, but was promptly elbowed by General Kunzite.

"Men!" Beryl bellowed, although the men were already at attention.  She looked suspiciously around.  "Where is Endymion?"

"In his...your...quarters, my queen."

"Fetch him."

Generals Nephrite and Kunzite nodded and left the room.  They returned ten minutes later with a weakly struggling King Endymion, who still looked worse for the wear.  His infection was not being properly tended to – Helios stole minutes when he could, but Beryl aimed to keep him sick and weak.

"We're declaring war on the independent kingdoms of the Earth."

Endymion's eyes widened.  "_What?!_"

"You heard me, your highness."  Beryl smiled.  "I've already signed the commission into law.  Of course, I cannot speak for Elysian.  But I've already sent a force to Babylon.  They're small and will cave easily."

Endymion turned his eyes to Nephrite.  Babylon was the general's city of origin.  The young king studied his former general for signs of disturbance.

Ah!  His eyes flickered, and he opened his mouth, but closed it almost instantly and shook his head.

Endymion also realized that he was not alone in his study.  Zoisite, Kunzite, and Jadeite had all shifted their eyes to face the general.  There was sympathy in each of their eyes – some more than others, but all of them shared the emotion.

They did remember.  There was some semblance of their former lives in their minds.  If only he could bring it to the fore!

Beryl nodded slightly to the four generals and looked towards the door.  "I'm leaving to ready myself for dinner," she said awkwardly.  She strode towards the door and departed, leaving the five men to their own devices.

They stood in silence for a while, each left to their own thoughts.  Then Endymion raised his head.

"Why?" he asked quietly.

Nephrite turned to Endymion.  "Why what?"

"Why...did you leave?  I thought you died..."  He surveyed the four.  "I received reports that all of you died on your leave...in various ways.  Drowning...a house fire..."  He looked at Nephrite and Kunzite.  "Suicide..."  Were they falsified reports?"

The generals looked away – all but Kunzite.  He turned his sharp grey stare to the king.

"Beryl has the power of Hades with her," he replied simply.  "She has powers beyond your comprehension.  We are dead.  Our souls belong to her."

"But you're alive," Endymion protested.

"No, King Endymion," Zoisite said, shaking his head.  "We are dead."


	18. The River

The River 

***

"Beryl, where are you going?"

Beryl looked up.  She was dressing in Endymion's quarters, where she had stored all of her own belongings.  She did not permit him to leave during the night or while she dressed, but the man had defiantly stayed up all night – as he had every night since she forced him to sleep in the quarters with her or not at all – and turned away when she began to remove her clothing.  It only frustrated the queen more, but Endymion didn't care.  He would not betray the love of his wife and his own conscience.

"Going to teach that stupid young princess a little about the value of hard labor," Beryl said, idly examining her nails.

Endymion winced a little, but sat in silence.  Beryl continued to dress.

"What..."  Endymion fidgeted in his position.  "What do you do to her?"

Beryl smiled.  "Wouldn't you like to know, dear prince?"

Endymion struggled to brush her flippant manner off, but he couldn't.  He wanted to know what Beryl was doing to his beloved.

"If you harm her, I swear I'll..."

"You'll what?"  Beryl laughed and laid a hand on Endymion's shoulder.  She cut her laugh short as she roughly turned the weakened man around, peering down into his eyes.

_Such beauty..._

"What will you do to me, oh strong and mighty king?" she mocked, staring into his eyes.  "Lay your hands on me.  I dare you."  She stepped back and presented herself.

Endymion turned his eyes away, struggling to hold back his tears.  He was not a man of excessive pride, and could let tears flow.  But to cry in front of Beryl would be destruction.

"You are powerless, Endymion," Beryl said in a low voice, seating herself besides the king.  "Don't make empty threats.  You could get yourself hurt."

****

Beryl was surprised to find Serenity already awake when she arrived, seemingly waiting for her as she sat on a rock besides the swift river.

"I have my next task for you," she said, her voice strangely satisfied.  "This task requires you to travel to Tartarus.  It is a dark, bothersome land, but it is said to have an entrance to the Underworld."  She smiled, shaking her head.  "There is a river called hateful there – the River Styx.  It has water black as pitch.  Here," she said, handing the younger queen a small black flask, "you are to collect some of the water from the Styx."

"How am I to supposed to get to Tartarus?"

"It is a small stretch of uninhabited land south of the kingdom of Babylon.  Walk towards the south.  You will get there."  She thought for a minute, then pointed to Serenity's hands.  "Do not lose that flask, or you will have failed your task."

***

Serenity felt ready to drop dead on arrival.  But she had certainly reached the land of Tartarus.  On the way, she'd passed a regiment of Erebese encamped near Babylon, but they allowed her passage and fed her sparingly, as per their orders from Queen Beryl.

Trekking farther into Tartarus, she noticed the river Styx – black as pitch, just as Beryl had said.  Serenity collasped.  The river flowed strong and fast...over a hill.  Only a winged creature could reach it.

In frustration, Serenity hurled the flask as hard as she could.

The flask hurled itself back at her.

Serenity looked cynically at the flask that had landed next to her, then looked up.  Standing above her – _way_ above her – was a tall girl with brown hair tied in a ponytail and friendly green eyes.

"Please tell me you threw that at me," Serenity pleaded, for the sake of her sanity.

"I did," the girl said.  "You'd almost hit me with it!  If my reflexes were not as quick as they were, I would have gotten hit."  She put her hands on her hips.  "Why did you throw it at me anyway?"

"I wasn't throwing it at you specifically," Serenity explained.  "I've been ordered to get water from there—"  She pointed to the waterfall.  "—and it's obvious that I can't get it."

"Why not?"

"Look.  It's for a winged creature to attain to, not a girl in a frumpy gown!"  She threw her hands up.

"So in frustration, you cast the flask toward me."

"Yes, but I'm beginning to think I'm going crazy – I imagined it threw itself back."

The girl chuckled.  "I'm Lita," she said.  "Who are you?"

"Serenity."

"The new queen of Elysian?"

"Yes," she replied.

"Oh, my."  Lita put one hand over her mouth.  "Did you come all the way from Elysian on foot?"

"Yes."  
"That's a week's walk at least."

"I know."

"No wonder you look so awful."  Immediately Lita clapped her hands over her mouth.  "I'm sorry, your highness.  I didn't mean it so hurtfully...only that you look rather disheveled..."

Serenity waved her hand.  "No matter," she said.  "I _do_ look awful.  Don't worry about it."

Lita put her hands back on her hips.  "I suppose you could use some help reaching the water..."

Serenity looked up at Lita.  "Do you think you could possibly reach that for me?"

Lita smirked.  "Alone, no.  But with a little help from Mother Nature..."

She knelt next to Serenity and clasped her hands together, closing her eyes as if in prayer.  "_Jupiter, god of the skies, king of all, lend me the power to help a companion!_" she bellowed.  "_Bless my powers of nature.  Jupiter, god of all foreigners, protect a poor soul who travels as a guest in this land!"_

This time, the familiarity of that prayer did not escape Serenity.  Ami and Rei had used very similar words when helping her in other endeavors.

Lita stood, glowing with verdant power, and picked up the flask by Serenity's side.  She walked towards the river.  Miraculously, a trail of green foliage grew in her path – in the midst of the dead field.  
Serenity gasped.

Once near the bank of the waterfall, Lita placed her hand against the trunk of a tree.  The tree bent to her, and she climbed it easily, flask still in hand.  Once atop the tree – tall indeed – she stretched out her hand.  A piercing cry split through the air, and a few moments later, an eagle hovered above Lita's head.  She handed the eagle the flask, and it flew off.

Serenity watched, transfixed, as the eagle circled toward the waterfall and flew through the foam, collecting the dangerous black water, and flew back towards the mistress who'd called him.  Lita patted the animal and took the flask, dismounted from the tree, and followed the trail of foilage back towards Serenity.

She handed her the flask, a cheerful smile on her face.  "Is this enough water?"

"Yes," Serenity said breathlessly.  "I was only ordered to get some, no specific amount, by an evil queen that kidnapped my husband.  She made me retrieve the water so I can get him back."

Lita smiled sympathetically.

"That – that was wonderful.  Thank you so much.  Where did you get the power to do that?"

Lita's smile faltered, and she looked away.  "That's a long story..."

"Please, tell me," Serenity said.  "I have much time...the one who orders me does not return until nightfall, so I will be here for quite a while. "

Lita sighed.  "All right," she conceded, and sat next to Serenity, a field of small flowers growing around her.


	19. The Tree

The Tree 

***

Nephrite's eyes popped open, and he cast them at the window behind his bed.  The sun was rising in the sky, indicating the early hour.

Smiling, he rose from the bed and slipped out of his room, running noisily past his parent's bedroom – they were not there, as the sun had risen -- towards the living parlor.  He stopped in the middle of the room.

There it stood.

The wall.  
 It was ordinary, as walls go – whitewashed and sparkling, no visible marks or scratches.  But to Neprite, it was both a heaven and a hell.

Scooting towards the wall and kneeling in the far left corner, Nephrite ran his hands across the wall, feeling...ah, here it was.  Bending down, Nephrite peered closely.  Yes, it was the small chink in the wall he had discovered many nights before.  He tapped lightly on the wall.

"I am here, my love."

A smile sprang to the young man's face.  "Lita?"

"Yes."

He sighed gently, unable to contain his happiness.  "It's been such a long night.  I've waited for this moment the whole night..."

The young man heard his love sigh from the other side of the wall.  "I know," she said.  "But we're here now.  Let's focus on that."

Nephrite touched the wall, his face twisting into a scornful expression.  "But for you we could touch, kiss," he snarled.

"But at least you let us speak together," Lita said, understanding his speech and also raising her voice to the wall.  "We are not ungrateful."

Nephrite sighed again.

"It's been days since we've seen each other in person," Lita lamented.

"Yes, I know," Nephrite said.

"I can hardly stand it!" Lita said.  "So long, our parents have kept us apart.  And why?  Our families are of equal station."

"Exactly," said Nephrite.  "Both hope to elevate themselves by marrying us to those of higher caste.  Therefore, they forbid us to marry."

"It's not fair."

"Not much in life is fair, Lita."

"I wish we didn't have to part tonight," she said.

"The day just started!"

"I know.  But every morning, we come to this chink in the wall—"  She pointed to the chink, although she knew Nephrite could not see it.   "—knowing that we will have to part at dusk when our parents return from working."

Nephrite put his chin in his hands, and suddenly his expression brightened.  "What if...we didn't have to part tonight?"

"That would be wonderful," Lita sighed.

"No – I mean it.  What if we devised a way to run away, so we'd never have to be apart again?"

Lita's eyes widened, and she smiled at the very prospect.

"We could run away to the country," she said slowly.  "There no one would find us, and we could be together forever."

"Yes, yes!" Nephrite said.  "We should do that tonight – tonight."

"Tonight?"  Lita sucked in her breath.  "But—"

"No buts," he said.  "We've known each other almost all our lives, been in love for half.  And our parents will not let us marry.  What are we supposed to do, waste our lives here in front of this wall?"  He thumped his fist on it.  "I won't do that, nor will I let you."

Lita smiled on her side of the wall, pressing her hand to it.  "Where should we meet tonight?"

Nephrite grinned widely.  "That's what I'm talking about!  There's a place I know of, a place no one would dare be by at night – the Tomb of Ninus.  We can go there!  You know of it, right?  There's a large mulberry tree and a cool spring..."

"Of course I know where that is!"

"Good.  So we'll meet there, tonight.  Leave as soon as the dusk falls and your parents are asleep.  It takes a little while to get there, and we want to have plenty of time to get as far as possible."

Lita smiled again, filled with happiness.  "Do you really think our plan can work, Nephrite?"

"We've got to try and see...I can't stand not being able to see you every day.  I love you, Lita!"

"I love you, too, Nephrite!" Lita exclaimed.  "And I retract my earlier statement.  Now I can't _wait_ for tonight!"

***

Lita pulled the sides of her cloak closer together as she wandered wearily towards the Tomb of Ninus.  Her home was four miles from the tomb, and it had been a long, tiring walk.  Yet, she was still glad she'd come – Nephrite would appear in just a few moments!

She sighed happily as she spotted the tomb.  The tall mulberry tree that marked its spot glistened, the white berries shining iridescently in the moonlight.  The cool rushing of the spring made a burbling sound.

All seemed right in the world.

Smiling, Lita hastened her step.  Seeing that beautiful spring had suddenly made her thirsty.

Halfway to the spring, Lita gasped and stopped, her forest green eyes widening with fear, clapping her hands on her mouth to keep from screaming loudly.  A lioness had appeared from the shadows, advancing towards the spring, ostensibly to get a drink.

The lioness was still a ways off.  She could escape if she ran quickly!

Lita turned and ran in the other direction, pumping her long legs towards the darkened woods and out of the lioness's sight.  She pumped her arms along with her legs to encourage her flight.  Her cloak slipped from her shoulders, but she did not stop to pick it up; her run warmed her and she barely noticed she had dropped it as she ran for her dear life.

***

Nephrite whistled quietly to himself as he approached the Tomb of Ninus.  In a few moments he'd be joined with his beautiful lover.  His parents had taken an abominable amount of time falling asleep, but he'd finally been able to escape with his belongings and get to the tomb.  He just hoped he hadn't let his lover wait too long.

Nephrite's whistling stopped abruptly, however, when he reached the site of the tomb.  There lay a dark green cloak, bloodstained and torn, with the tracks of a lioness all around.

Lita's cloak.

Nephrite ran up to the cloak, heedless of the danger that might still lurk in the dark woods.  Tenderly, he reached down and lifted the cloak, rubbing the fabric against his cheek.

"My beloved Lita!" he cried plaintively.  "How could I have let you come here all alone?  How stupid could I be?  So many dangers abound – and yet I let you come here alone.  I should have had us meet somewhere closer, or left earlier, so I could be here first..."

Tears streamed from the young man's eyes, but he didn't bother to brush them from his cheeks.  Instead, he rose from the ground, walking, as in a dream, to the mulberry tree.  So involved in misery he was he didn't even see the female standing in his way until he walked into her, falling to the ground.  He looked up.

"Mae...nad..." he whispered to himself, eyes widening.

"Your beloved lays dead because of you," the Maenad said, pointing a bloody accusing finger at Nephrite.

His eyes dilated even more, then shone with fresh tears.

"It should have been me..."

"It can be," the Maenad said.  She waved her hand and a dark, illusory sheet appeared.  "A soul for a soul.  Give your soul to the Underworld by the Styx, and by the Styx, she will rise again."

"I will," Nephrite said solemnly.

The Maenad smiled as magically, Nephrite's signature appeared across the bottom

Once there, Nephrite stared up at the somber white berries.  He carefully laid his beloved's cloak on the ground, then drew his sword from its scabbard and pierced himself in the side, desperate to drown out his misery.

***

Lita peered out from behind the tree.  It was still deathly dark and she was still afraid.  But Nephrite would be appearing any minute now, and she was more afraid to fail him, afraid that he'd give up and go home.

Tentatively, she stepped from the three, walked hurriedly through the woods, came to a stop at the edge.  She should be able to see the white mulberry tree from here, a shining beacon to the place she and her lover were to meet.

Strangely, she saw no tree of white fruit.  In its place stood a tree with blood-red berries.

Something was seriously wrong.

Lita quickened her pace, slowing only to note a scene that must have been formerly gory – a patch of grass stained with blood, and a tattered shred of her cloak.  She shivered.  The lioness must have found it and ripped it, frustrated at losing a kill.

Nearing the tree with the red berries, Lita saw something move underneath it.  She yelped a little, but upon closer inspection, she realized that the moving creature's outline was too small to be a lioness, or any other like-sized beast.

As a matter of fact, the silhouette was the perfect size for...a man.

With a gasp, Lita ran even faster towards the red-berried tree, and shrieked loudly when she identified the moving creature.

"Nephrite!" she screamed, falling to her knees and grabbing his frame.  She pressed her lips to his; they were cold.  "Oh, no, _Nephrite_!  Nephrite, _please_ wake up!  Look at me, speak to me!  It's _me_, _Lita_!"

At the sound of her name, Nephrite slowly, weakly, opened his eyes.

"_Nephrite_!" she yelled.  "What happened?"

The young man made a faint motion to his side.

Lita looked.  There lay the man's sword, and the majority of her cloak, stained with blood and tattered.  Her lips parted, then closed.

"Oh, no, Nephrite," she whispered.

He looked at her for a long time, and raised his hand to touch her face.  His lips parted slowly.  "My...love...my...soul..."

Death descended, and his eyes closed, his hand falling short of its mark.

"NO!  NEPHRITE!!"

The bereaved girl buried her face in her lover's chest, sobbing pitifully over the fate of her love.

Then she lifted her face, determined.

"Nephrite gave his life for me," Lita said.  "He couldn't live without me.  Well, I'm the same!  My love is strong!  I can't live without him, either!"

Hesitating only a split second, Lita reached toward Nephrite's sword.  It was heavy, and she struggled momentarily.  "Only death could separate us," she said, her voice wavering as she set the sword in position.  "It shall not have that power now!"


	20. The Guilt

**The Guilt**

"If you were about to kill yourself, and nearly plunged the sword in your own heart," Serenity began, "then how are you alive now?"

Lita smiled faintly. "The tree," she said. "Jupiter's powers blessed that mulberry tree. I was sitting on a root! It tumbled me and knocked the sword away from me. So I gained power over the forces of nature, for it was nature that killed my beloved."

Serenity looked thoughtfully at the flask before her, into the dark water that churned as if it were still in the river. "Thank you for your help," she said. "Night approaches, however, and I wouldn't want you around when Queen Beryl returns. I believe she has a sensor for great power..."

"Thank _you_, my queen," Lita said. "That story had been inside for a long time. I haven't shared it with anyone since it happened, just wandered around, very lonely."

Serenity stood and held her arms out towards Lita, who smiled brightly and bounded into them.

_Once again, so warm_, Serenity said. _There is something about this girl, and the other two I met, in common_.

"Good luck," Lita whispered as she slunk away.

* * *

Trivia awoke with a short shriek, but quickly clamped her hands over her mouth. Orcas slept like a dead man, but he would stir at a hint of her discomfort.

Climbing out of bed slowly so as not to jar the bed, Trivia made her way to the bathroom adjoining her bedroom. She took a deep breath and turned on the water, letting it run cold before she began to splash liberal amounts on her face.

"What a horrible dream," she whispered to herself.

She turned up and looked at her face in the mirror. She looked pale, ragged, and scared. Her conscience bothered her more than anything. She wondered, fearfully, regretfully, what had happened to Serenity.

Diana and she had parted ways after leaving Serenity's palace that night. Neither woman had any intentions of staying near the palace – they went home to their castles, to their cozy places on the Moon, comfortable with the fact that their younger sister would no longer surpass them in anything – beauty or wealth.

It had been a week, however, and Trivia was beginning to feel guilt eat away at her. She could have killed her sister! If Serenity truthfully went through with her awful deed and murdered the king, there would be hell to pay.

How could she have set up her sweet little sister that way? Serenity never asked to be born beautiful, and she didn't ask to be married to a king richer than both Somnus and Orcas. She just had incredible luck – or bad luck, depending on who was looking at the situation. In reality, Serenity had never lorded it over her sisters that she was more beautiful. She was always very uncomfortable with the situation. And she never bragged about her wealth. She simply wanted to share it with her sisters, show them her happiness, seemed innocently unaware of the fact that jealousy burned in their hearts.

How could they have been so cruel to her?

Trivia watched her face crumble in the mirror, watched tears run down her face. And she was being rightfully punished. When she was younger and fought with Diana or teased Serenity, her father strictly warned her of the anger of the Furies – Megaera, Alecto, and Tisiphone – the goddesses who brought punishment upon souls who offended others, especially their family members. Three vengeful goddesses who tortured their transgressors with nightmare visions and horrible fates.

For three straight nights she had been tortured with visions. The first night was vague – the sea crashing against her home, Diana's home, the entire kingdom, washing it away. But as the nights wore on, the sea materialized – spawned horrible creatures and ugly nightmarish beasts, climbing onto the beaches and attacking the kingdom with force.

The dreams were silly in a sense. The Moon Kingdom wasn't even situated on a beach; the closest great sea was the Sea of Serenity, and that was hundreds of kilometers away from the kingdom, not close enough to cause minor flooding, much less the destruction of a kingdom that had stood for centuries.

At the same time, they frightened Trivia. The sea was symbolic, and she knew it. And the visions were too vivid, too realistic. The Furies were punishing her...and she was afraid that punishment would become corporeal in time.

* * *

Beryl stared into the flask a third time. The black water swirled inside, as frothy as if it were a raging river. She set it down on the grass besides her and narrowed her eyes at her opponent – the young Serenity, queen of Elysian.

"I do not know how you accomplished this," she said, glaring hatefully at the beautiful young queen. Her eyes flickered. Did this stupid young girl possess some sort of spiritual...powers?

She stared at the flask. The Moon Kingdom wasn't famed for young women with powers...and it would definitely be universal news if Serenity, the most beautiful mortal in the galaxy, possessed spiritual powers. Yet, how had she conquered this task? It was impossible to reach the raging river without help from some sort of flying animal, and even then, how would she have gotten the water into the flask?

"Please," Serenity said plaintively, "may I see my husband now?"

Beryl turned back to the princess and narrowed her eyes. "No," she said. You will have another task to complete...one I will give to you tomorrow morning, at dawn. Rest well tonight, my dear Queen Serenity."

"Please," Serenity said, stepping forward, but Beryl merely waved her hands and disappeared in thick clouds of black smoke, leaving Serenity to stare at the place where she had been.

* * *

The four generals trudged, weary, from the battle scene.

It was a shambles. The battle against Babylon had been much cleaner, but Cyprus had been a bigger, stronger country, much harder to defeat. The war had been bloody...but surprisingly short.

General Jadeite extracted his sword from the last fallen Cyprian with a shudder. He reached down and touched the chest of the soldier. _Dead_, he confirmed.

_Be glad you're dead, brother_, a voice inside him called out in despair. _The ones still alive have a much worse fate._

The blood on his own sword repulsed him, inexplicably.

Spotting a handkerchief in the Cyprian soldier's breast pocket, Jadeite reached down and snatched the cloth up, rubbing his sword fiercely with the effor to clear it of the blood. Finally the last remnants of the red liquid were cleared from the blade.

Jadeite held back the small square cloth and studied it. It was pink, a color no soldier would buy of his own accord.

The young general shuddered again as he dropped the handkerchief. He'd noticed the monogram in the corner of the cloth.

_R._

"Jadeite...what are you doing?"

Jadeite looked up to regard the face of his superior commander, Kunzite. He saluted him smartly, but Kunzite shook his head.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes." Of course he was okay. Another day's work for Beryl, his beloved queen.

"No." How could he be okay? He had just killed off the last of his free countrymen.

Kunzite sighed deeply. Their souls were in subjection to Beryl, but their hearts and brains were still free – for the most part. Then there were times when Kunzite wasn't sure what he still controlled himself. He wouldn't have threatened his prince of his own accord, but Beryl had horrible means of torturing a soul – ones that she made sure the generals had a taste of before she set them out to do her bidding.

"Come on," he said, putting a hand on Jadeite's shoulder. The younger man was shaken, but he'd found the same problem Kunzite had – he couldn't stop his own actions, couldn't stop the slaughter of his own countrymen. His mind was torn between the love for his country, his struggle for control over his body members, and Beryl's strong influence on his soul.

Kunzite turned his eyes to the blue above. Thrace was the strongest kingdom outside of Erebus, so that would be the last one they tackled. But eventually, they would be there, and he would be going through the same inner torment Jadeite was now, and Nephrite had already undergone last week – tearing through his own countrymen, killing familiar faces, but powerless to stop the carnage.

The two men joined the other two generals, Nephrite and Zoisite, to the caravan that had been set up not too far from the battle scene. Endymion sat in the middle of the surrey, head bowed. If his hands weren't bowed, they'd probably be clasped. The priest, now turned pegasus, also had his head bowed in silent prayer.

When the Elysian prince heard the men's footsteps approach, he lifted his head and opened his eyes. They were bleary, red, and still wet with tears.

"How could you?" he whispered. "All of you? Especially you...Jadeite?"

Jadeite's heart burst into tears. His face set itself stonily.

"Beryl," he said grimly.

"What happened?" Endymion cried, more loudly. "What did she do to you? What power of hers could possibly make you do something as horrendous as this?"

"Do you think we want to do it?!" Nephrite cried.

"Of course we do," Zoisite said solemnly.

"No, we don't," Kunzite countered.

"Yes, we do," Jadeite said softly, surprising them all.

There was a moment of silence. Then Endymion spoke.

"Can someone...explain this...confusion?"

Kunzite heaved a sigh. As the oldest, and freest, he often ended up doing most of the explaining – the one most able to, with the most control over his functions.

"Beryl...has subjection over our souls," he replied, bowing his head. "Our hearts are still ours, but our souls belong to Beryl. And thus she controls our bodily functions. The soul has stronger control over our minds, and thus, she controls what we do. So we may not want to kill our own countrymen."

"We're not even sure what we want," Nephrite confirmed.

"Yes," Kunzite continued. "But whatever we want, we're conquering these countries."

"Sometimes we have a bloodlust so strong that we can't control it...that we must..." Zoisite gestured to the carnage behind him. "I think those are the times when Beryl influences our souls the most...when there is no hope in us...when we're in despair."

"And there are other times—" Jadeite looked up at his prince. "—when we remember...things...and we rebel. But the pain, the pain of rebelling is too great..."

"...so we try not to remember," Nephrite ended.

"Remember what?" The priest spoke for the first time.

The four generals exchanged glances, and they all shook their heads and shrugged.

"We don't remember," Nephrite said.


	21. The Charm

**The Charm**

"I have finally devised a fourth task for you to complete, Serenity," Queen Beryl announced, as she arrived in a sooty swirl of dust.

Serenity's face rose to regard the dark queen. Her eyes were dark and sleepy; she had deep circles under them, and her figure was wan. Beryl smiled. _Her beauty is waning by the minute_, she thought gleefully.

"What is it?" she asked, with all the energy she could muster.

Beryl waved her hand, and in her palm appeared a small mirrored box. "This is a vanity box," she told the queen, holding it towards her. "Under the ground, in the darkest reaches of the earth, lies a realm called the Underworld. There dwells a soul called the Golden One. She possesses great beauty, as well as the power to bestow it in a small charm. Your task is to journey into the underworld and obtain a beauty charm from this young soul."

Serenity sprang to her feet. This seemed like the easiest task of all!

"Don't be so cocky, young princess," Beryl said, sneering as she held the box out to Serenity. "This task is not as easy as it seems."

"How am I to get to the Underworld?" Serenity asked, taking the box. It was so very pretty, jeweled on the sides and held closed with a mother-of-pearl clasp.

"Now, if I was to tell you that, it would be an easy task!" Beryl crowed, clapping her hands. "All I will tell you is that there is a large dark hole in the ground, to the south, you must find. That is the beginning of your journey. After that, you must find the way on your own."

"Wait! How am I—"

But she was gone.

Serenity stared down at the small box in her hands. Fighting the urge to sink to the ground and sob, she strode purposefully towards the south.

Serenity stared ominously at the large black hole in the Earth, not sure she wanted to enter. It was steep and craggy, and there were plenty of places for maids to slip, even in thin, sensitive slippers like her own.

She heaved a sigh and pulled the mirrored box closer into her reach. To see her beloved husband, she would do anything...even venture into the depths of the Underworld.

Serenity climbed further down. The box reflected tiny shards of light from the sun as she descended into the darkness, but as she moved farther away from the light above, the darker the hole got, until finally she was shrouded in pitch blackness.

Then she felt her foot make a false step, and her hand slipped away from a craggy mass, and she felt herself falling, falling into the dark pit.

She couldn't scream; she was too frightened to scream. There was no telling where she would fall, how much longer she had to fall, what she would fall on or in. She closed her eyes tight and prayed to the gods to protect her.

Seconds later – but after what felt like an eternity to Serenity – she hit the ground, in hard _thump_ that rendered her whole body numb. Her back took the brunt of the fall.

Then her head hit the ground and she blacked out.

* * *

There is always that funny sense, when someone is staring, of an intense itching at the spot on which the eyes bore.

Serenity began to come around to consciousness with that distinct feeling. She did not remember where she was, or what had transpired, or how long she had been in her position – only that someone was intensely staring at her.

She looked up. Above her stood a young woman – not much more than a girl – rather tall in appearance, with short black hair and luminous violet eyes. She was holding a lantern in one hand, the other braced firmly on the ground, and was peering over Serenity solicitously.

"You're awake now," she murmured in a sibilant voice, those violet eyes blinking. "In a few moments, you're going to feel the pain."

Serenity frowed, her brow wrinkled, but her eyes widened when she felt a shockwave of pain shoot up her spine.

The fall – yes, the fall.

The girl laid a white-gloved hand on Serenity's body and closed her violet eyes. A warm sensation spread over the queen, and the pain subsided in gentle waves, lessening until there was none left.

The girl opened her eyes.

"You may stand now," she said, again in that low, musical voice.

Serenity tested her arms against the ground, pushing tentatively. Yes, the pain was gone. She slowly pulled herself into a standing position and looked at the girl, who had also pulled herself to a standing position and now stood at about the same height as Serenity. This girl was clad in garb unseeming of a young woman – a tight white bodice with a violet sailor collar and a matching pleated skirt that swished around her thighs. Tall violet boots laced up to her knees. The lantern dangled from one white-gloved hand, and in the other rested a tall black pole, wickedly topped with a glinting silver scythe.

Serenity shuddered.

"Who are you?" she asked in a whisper.

"I am the Death Soldier," she said.

Serenity's eyes widened. "So I...am in the...the Underworld?"

The Death Soldier nodded solemnly, and held the lantern up.

They were in a large, dank cavern. Craggy black masses erupted from the weirdly twisted walls, and stalactites and stalagmites created an eerie, dragon's-mouth feel to the grotto. The Death Soldier turned a bit, and held the lantern towards the north. There a dark river flowed, fast and angry, crashing over rocks. There seemed to be no opposite bank to the wide river.

"My task," the Death Soldier intoned, "is to row the souls across this river – the Acheron – to the other side.

"Why might you be in the Underworld?" the Death Soldier asked, casting a glance at Serenity. The golden hair, bright blue eyes, and long white gown were so incongruous with her current surroundings.

"I am running an errand...for Queen Beryl," Serenity said, and the Death Soldier's face contorted. It was almost imperceptible, but Serenity saw it. However, she let it pass without comment. Inwardly, she was afraid of this creature. "I must retrieve a beauty charm from the one called the Golden One."

This time, the Death Soldier really did smile, albeit a small one. "The Golden One," she said. "One of the few happinesses in this accursed place."

Serenity looked uncomfortable. "How...how may I reach this Golden One?"

The Death Soldier gestured towards her ferry. "I could ferry you across the river," she said. "Once you get across, you will have to go to the gates of the Dark Palace. That is where Hades resides...and where he keeps the Golden One." She frowned. "But...you must pay me a penny."

Serenity raised an eyebrow. "A...penny?"

"It is the mandate of the gods. And of Beryl."

_Beryl? She really must have more power than I could have imagined,_ Serenity thought, and felt foolish for thinking she could match the powerful queen. She reached into the folds of her tattered gown and pulled out a shining gold coin. The four maidservants at the palace had folded it into her dress. "Will this do?"

The Death Soldier took the coin and nodded. The top of her ghastly stave glowed momentarily, and she winced slightly, bending forwards, but she quickly straightened.

The coin was no longer in her hands.

"Follow me," she said.

Serenity started after her, then stopped, clapping her hands over her cheeks. "The vanity box!" she exclaimed. "I must have dropped it during my...fall."

Then she felt something in her hands. The Death Soldier was pushing the vanity box into her arms.

She could have cried with gratitude.

"Follow me," the Death Soldier repeated, and began her stride to the ferry.

She climbed in with ease, and took Serenity's hand and pulled the girl in after her. Then the soldier lifted her scythe, and Serenity squeezed her eyes shut, terrified. But the girl merely used the tip to push off the bank, and they were swiftly sailing across the water.

The Death Soldier squeezed her own eyes shut then, and dipped the tip of her scythe in the water to direct the ferry's trajectory. An excruciating screeching rose..._from the waters_.

Serenity clapped her hands over her ears. "What is _that?_" she shrieked.

"The souls," the Death Soldier yelled over the clamor.

"_What_ souls?" Serenity asked, looking around, willing the painful noise to stop.

The Death Soldier pointed into the churning waters, and Serenity looked down. A wispy figure slid through the water, and another, and another...there were hundreds, thousands of them.

Fish? In that cold water?

But inwardly, Serenity knew they were not fish.

Staring longer she saw the faces appear, the hollow eyes filled with pain, the mouths contorted in screams. She watched as the scythe cut through a soul, then another, then another. They were screaming in terror, in pain, of the dreadful blade that severed their "bodies".

She wanted to tell the Death Soldier to stop, but it was the only way to advance over the river, so she inserted her fingers in her ears and shut her eyes tightly, waiting for the horrific ride to end.

* * *

"Queen Serenity...we have arrived."

Serenity opened her eyes and looked about. The ferry rested on the opposite bank. The Death Soldier was standing on the shore, scythe in hand.

It was still dripping, wet with souls.

Serenity shook her head, as if to clear it, and stepped from the ferry onto the shore. She stared at the Death Soldier in apprehension, and nodded at her.

"Thank you," she said shakily, and started away, towards the dark hollows of the Underworld.

A hand grabbed her, and she whirled, barely suppressing a scream. But it was only the Death Soldier, her violet eyes determined.

"Continue in that direction," she said, pointing slightly east of the direction Serenity was headed, "and take this." She handed the queen the lantern. "Take it – I've plenty more, plus my eyes have grown accustomed to this dark work.

"Continue in that direction. You will come across a tall gate of doors. Standing at the gate will be the Time Guardian. She guards the gates of the Dark Palace. Here." She pressed a small object into Serenity's hand.

Serenity opened her hand and stared at it. It was a small silver key.

"You will need that to get past her, to enter into the Dark Palace. It separates...separates the damned from the others." At the word _damned_, she glanced at the Acheron. "They will never enter the Dark Palace. The more fortunate service Hades." There was bitterness in _more fortunate_.

Her grip tightened on Serenity's arm. "But ultimately, they are in servitude to Beryl," she said, her eyes deepening to a stormy indigo. "She took their souls long ago. The only ones who escaped were the Golden One, the Time Guardian, and me, the Death Soldier...somehow our souls remain intact. The Time Guardian says we have some special power, but that can only be unlocked by one whom we do not yet know.

"Meanwhile Beryl has us imprisoned here. Beryl goes crazy with rage, not being able to steal our power fully. But she steals it in small increments...by making me perform this horrific job, by stationing the Time Guardian before the door for centuries, and by sending poor souls to claim the Golden One's in charms she constantly creates, to keep Beryl beautiful." The Death soldier smiled cruelly. "Without them, she would be an ugly old hag...once she was naturally beautiful, but the power that she takes from the souls she steals ages her horribly. She uses the Golden One to remain so.

"Free her, Serenity. And all of us. You have been sent on a grand mission – the Time Guardian speaks of you. And Tereisias. When you get to the Dark Palace, and have finished your mission, find him and have him tell you. You believe this is simple, that Beryl is a simple ambitious queen; but it is so much more than that. She has power beyond your imagination. But so...so do you.

"This is the beginning of a grand prophecy to save this Earth. But if you let her, she will take your soul, and we will have _no hope left._

"Do not take our hope away, dear Queen Serenity."

* * *

Serenity stepped heavily, her mind on all that the Death Soldier had said.

Grand prophecy? Stolen souls? What did it all mean? This power Beryl was claiming...who did she get it from? Where?

She frowned, but pushed the thoughts from her mind. She would find Tereisias – whoever he was – and request the information she sought.

Serenity rose the lantern higher, and looked forwards. The air was thicker here, thick with a swirl of gaseous clouds, but she could see the hazy design of a gate in the distance and advanced towards it. The air grew thicker.

Finally, when the air was its thickest, the clouds swirling around her at dizzying speed, Serenity slowly losing alertness, a voice called out...seemingly from a distance.

"Halt! Who goes there?"

"Queen Serenity," Serenity gasped, collapsing to the floor.

The rush of boots was faintly heard.

"Queen Serenity?" A voice was heard above. "But you're no Queen Serenity." A gasp. "Or...are you?"

Serenity felt herself yanked to her feet.

"Tell me the fate of the Moon Queen Serenity!"

"Can't...breathe..." Serenity's head lolled to one side, her blue eyes dull.

The figure thrust a hand forward, rounding it about Serenity's throat.

Suddenly, air! A vacuum of air was sucked through Serenity's windpipe. Slowly the young queen's vision began returning to her.

"Tell me the fate of the Moon Queen Serenity," the voice demanded again.

"She is still...alive...as far as...I know," Serenity said, gulping newfound air. "I am...her daughter...the Moon Princess...and queen of Elysian."

The figure released her, giving her a small push away, and Serenity raised her eyes. She was tall, darker-skinned, with emerald-green hair and eyes of garnet. She wore an outfit similar to the Death Soldier's, except that her collar and skirt were black, and her boots were slightly different, pointed at the knees with a white strip.

She also held a different staff – hers resembled a giant silver key, with a large garnet-colored sphere positioned in the center of the intricately designed top.

"The Time Guardian," Serenity whispered.

The Time Guardian regarded Serenity wearily, and nodded slowly at hearing her appellation.

"You are not dead," she said pointedly. "You retain the glow of life. How on Earth did you end up in the Underworld?"

"I am on a mission for Queen Beryl," Serenity responded.

The Time Guardian's face twisted in a paradox of disgust and despair. "Has she taken you?" she asked bitterly. "Or do you serve her willingly?"

"Neither," Serenity responded. "I...I was not aware of the magnitude of her power...before the Death Soldier, The Death Soldier, told me about it. Or a _little_ about it. I am to collect a beauty charm from the Golden One."

The Time Guardian eyed her suspiciously. "Did she ask you to do any other tasks?"

"Yes...she asked me to sort a pile of seeds, collect the golden fleece, and collect water from the River Styx."

The Time Guardian shook her head. "She's searching," she said pitifully. "By God, she's searching."

"What are you saying?" Serenity asked.

"No time. I cannot tell you, she will know. Quickly, now. You say you are the daughter of Queen Serenity?" The Time Guardian studied her. "You look just like her. You must be..." Her eyes widened. "Born of the crystal."

"I...what?"

"You...are her!" She advanced towards Serenity exuberently, but just as quickly her temperament changed. "But I cannot. Beryl will know. She probes, you know. But that doesn't mean anything to you. Here. Did The Death Soldier give you a key?"

Serenity produced the small silver key, which she had held tightly in her hand since The Death Soldier placed it there.

"Good," she said, and took the key from Serenity. She held it in the air, and the garnet orb in her staff began glowing, resonating with the key. The Time Guardian's body took on a garnet glow, and she winced, more perceptibly than the Death Soldier, with a slight moan. The key disappeared, and she slowly straightened.

With effort, she pointed towards the great doors into the Dark Palace. They were slowly opening, reacting from the power of the key and the Guardian's staff.

"Enter the Dark Palace," she said. "When you do, close your eyes. If you search within yourself, you will feel the power of the Golden One resonating inside you. Follow that power until you find her. She will be happy to help you.

"When she has given you what you need, find Tereisias, the blind prophet. He will tell you much as well...much that you must know. Now go! And quickly, Princess Serenity. Time is of the essence."

* * *

Serenity walked through the tall obsidian doors of the Dark Palace and looked around. The air was considerably lighter here. Figures like people moved through the halls, but their "skin" was devoid of the 'glow of life' of which the Time Guardian had spoken.

Taking a deep breath, Serenity closed her eyes and searched.

Nothing seemed to happen, at first. But the determined young queen squeezed her eyes shut so hard it hurt, urging her subconscious to continue to _search_, to find the power of this Golden One that had been so highly spoken of by the two warriors of the Underworld.

And suddenly, deep inside herself, something was _touched_.

She didn't know how, but she sensed it – a tentative poking of something that was inside her. A dormant, quiet, weak power that quivered inside herself, by the seat of her heart.

It was familiar. She recognized it.

It wasn't what she was looking for.

Serenity was puzzled – what was this inside of her? – but ambitious, she reached past it, and past another and another that were like it, yet different.

Finally she found the one she was looking for. It was weak, but it was not dormant – it was alive, in use. It was warm and bright and covered her entirely, enveloped her with...

...love?

Serenity followed her intuition and began to walk, straight, following that brilliance.

Within minutes she bumped into something soft – a person. Opening her eyes, Serenity came face-to-face with the most beautiful person she'd ever seen –

-- herself.

It wasn't herself. This young woman was not her, no, but she could have been. A replica – a near clone – a lost twin. Her long blond hair was a little shorter than Serenity's, but it was glossy and bright, the same color. Her blue eyes were only slightly paler than Serenity's – a fact that would have gone unnoticed by all but the very closest to the young queen. She was about an inch taller than Serenity, but that too was negligible.

Everything else was the same...right down to the faint crescent moon marking on her forehead.

The woman herself looked startled. She reached out a hand and gingerly touched Serenity on the arm.

"Not a mirror," she said, wonderingly.

"No mirror," Serenity whispered. "Are you the Golden One?"

The young lady smiled – the kind of smile one gives when one has not smiled in a long, long time. "They call me that...but my name is Minako."

"Minako," Serenity whispered. "Queen Beryl sent me. I am to retrieve a beauty charm from you."

Minako cringed, then nodded. She held her hand up, preparing to weave her magic, but Serenity took it in her own.

"But first," she said, smiling, "would you tell me how you came to be down here, if you don't mind?"

Minako stared at Serenity with wide eyes, but her expression softened and she nodded. She gestured to an empty corner of the palace, where the souls in the Underworld did not wander. She and Serenity settled into the spot, and then she began her story.


	22. The Love

**The Love**

Minako spun in circles, chased by her chambermaids, who were torn between being frustrated and happy. "Miss Aino! Miss Aino, please let us finish getting you dressed!"

"Ha! Miss Aino I'll be no more, after this morning!" Minako yelled, continuing to spin.

"You'll still be Miss Aino by daybreak if you keep spinning around like that!" her maid-of-honor said, grabbing hold of her flighty friend. "Stand still. I know it's hard for you to do that! But it's only a few minutes!"

Minako stood still, and her bridesmaids attacked her. One rushed to affix her veil to her golden blonde hair, another went to put make-up on her face and the third bent to straighten the hem of Minako's wedding gown.

Finally she was made up to their satisfaction, and they stood and stared at her, sighing.

"Minako..." one of the bridesmaids began. "You – you look so beautiful!"

"Kunzite's going to drop dead on the spot," another one whispered.

Minako's maid-of-honor stepped forward and circled the smiling bride, bringing her arms around her neck.

Minako looked down. A shining golden necklace was being affixed to her neck, a golden-colored stone sitting in the middle.

"Congratulations," the maid-of-honor said, smiling. "I was going to give it to you at your bridal shower, but I decided to wait and surprise you with it today. The stone in the center is topaz. It goes so well with the rest of your colors...plus, it's the 'stone of the sun'. It allows you to focus your wishes and dreams into it, and it attracts love and prosperity."

Minako's eyes filled with tears, and she actually waited patiently until her maid-of-honor was finished with the necklace, then embraced her tightly.

"Thank you so much," she whispered, her eyes still wet.

The topaz glowed.

* * *

Kunzite grabbed his right hand, but the tremors continued, just placed themselves farther up his arms. Yes, there was no way around it – he was nervous.

He anxiously stared at the doors from the back. His bride would be entering from that back door any second, and he was sure he would jump five feet in the air when she did.

How ironic. He, Kunzite, famed lyrist and Argonaut, who drowned out the Sirens' song, who sailed with the heroic Jason and the witch Medea, who had seen exciting places and had done exciting things, was nervous at his own wedding.

He sighed, trying to calm himself. Minako's maid-of-honor walking through the doors, however, only sparked his anxiety again. His beloved and beautiful bride was coming through those doors next, and he couldn't wait to lay eyes on her.

Then the congregation rose, and Kunzite inhaled sharply.

Minako was gliding through the doors, sheer white veil pulled modestly over her face, cheeks rosy, holding a bouquet of flowers of all shades between white and yellow.

Kunzite's heart was beating giddily.

He didn't realize he was still holding his breath until Minako stepped in front of him, looking up into his eyes, and her father was placing her hand in his. That was because he tried to inhale again, and his chest nearly burst.

He exhaled slowly, and his bride smiled amusedly through her veil.

With shaking fingers, Kunzite reached forward to lift the veil over Minako's head, smiling more and more widely as the veil went up. Minako's bright blue eyes and rosy pink lips were then smiling up at him, her eyes misty.

He thought he could break down right there.

Everything went in a blur from then on. The priest began to intone words, say a prayer, and Kunzite bowed his head and rose it at the right times, but he could not take his eyes from his bride. And the same seemed true for Minako. He shut his eyes directly before the prayer, then opened them to find Minako doing the same. They both smiled, she blushed, and they shut their eyes again.

The two of them then repeated their vows after the priest, each placing a golden ring on the other's finger, and the priest sprinkled the holy water on them, then joined their hands.

"I now pronounce you man and wife," he intoned, a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "You may kiss your bride."

And his will was done.

* * *

"You looked so beautiful up there!"

"You still do!"

"How did his kiss feel? Was it too forceful?"

"It sure looked dreamy enough."

"I can't wait until I get married!"

Minako merely giggled at her bridesmaids' remarks, blushing modestly as she pranced alongside them through the meadow. In their yellow muslin dresses, they appeared to be nymphs dancing through the woods, picking brightly colored, sweet-scented flowers.

"And can you imagine," one of the bridesmaids said impishly, "what we're gathering these flowers for?"

All the girls giggled at once, and Minako blushed deeply. In fact, the girls were picking flowers to strew across Minako's bridal bed for good luck and fertility.

"I won't," she said, slightly embarrassed, but smiling all the while.

"You won't have to," said her maid-of-honor, and the girls broke up into giggles again.

"It's such a beautiful day," Minako said, spreading her arms out wide. "I'm so glad we decided to have an outdoor wedding. I would have been positively livid if I had my wedding indoors on a day like this!" She started to spin past her bridesmaids.

They chuckled softly, all bending to pick up flowers as they continued to stride.

Her maid-of-honor bent to pick a particularly large daffodil, and that's when she saw the snake.

"Minako! Look out!"

Minako perked her head forward, but too late. She stumbled across a rock behind her, falling right into the poisonous viper's path.

It hissed. It struck.

Minako screamed woefully.

* * *

"No! No! I won't believe it! Where is she!"

"Kunzite, it won't do you any good to go in there. You'll just get her all riled up, and her heart will only start pumping the venom through her veins faster."

"You mean to tell me there's _nothing_ you can do? There's no hope?"

The doctor lowered his face and shook his head. "Nothing," he said. "Viper's venom works very quickly, and Minako was so scared her heart started pumping it very fast. She didn't get to me in time for me to get the venom out before it spread all over her body. It's only a matter of time before it stops her heart."

Kunzite reared his head back and let out a loud bellow of grief.

"We can only hope in the gods now," he said.

Kunzite shook his head and charged into the curtained room.

"No, Kunzite," said the doctor, running after him. "You'll want to remember your bride as you saw her last. Not this way."

"I want to see her," Kunzite said.

"I don't advise—"

"I want to see her." His voice was filled venom more poisonous than any viper's.

The doctor sighed and gestured towards the room, and Kunzite entered.

Immediately he almost wished he had listened to the doctor. His beautiful Minako was laying in a bed, her face gaunt and blue, her eyes hollow and glazed over. She would appear to be sleeping if her eyes hadn't been open, staring straight up at the ceiling.

"Minako," he whispered, going to her bedside.

She heard his voice and struggled to turn her head to it, smiling weakly. "Kunzite," she wailed, but it came out as a whisper.

"Minako...how could I let..."

"It's...not your fault..."

"I should've protected you," he said. "I was going to be your husband."

She smiled, reached a hand out with much pain, and took his. "You are my husband."

Her eyes closed.

Kunzite's eyes widened. "Minako, I love you...Minako, can you hear me? Are you still there? Minako, open your eyes. I'm trying to tell you something...can you hear me? I love you! Minako...?" He shook her gently but she did not stir.

With a pained countenance Kunzite rested his head against his wife's chest. Her heart was beating so faintly he couldn't even feel it, could only hear a faint vibration.

Then, nothing.

Kunzite turned his head over and buried his face in his wife's bridal gown, soaking it in his tears.

* * *

_We can only hope in the gods now._

Kunzite twirled a yellow rose between his fingers – one left over from Minako's nosegay. His face was gloomy. He couldn't get his mind from upon Minako – hadn't been able to since she died three days ago with him at her side.

_We can only hope in the gods now_.

Something about what the doctor said was bothering him, but he didn't understand what. Kunzite was distressed over the gods' actions, but also over their sometimes seeming powerlessness, too. Why, he had conquered the voices of those demi-goddesses the Sirens...there was no one, mortal or not, who could reisist the music of his lyre.

_We can only hope in the gods now._

Suddenly Kunzite sat bolt upright, his eyes wide. There _was_ no one, mortal or not, who could reisist his lyre.

With that thought, the young musician jumped up and grabbed his famous lyre from the stand, then rushed out of the door of his house without a second thought.

* * *

It was a very strange day in the Underworld.

The Time Guardian, the mystical everlasting warrior, the stoic and unfeeling watcher of time, had fallen asleep.

"What!" Hades leapt to his feet, glaring at the messenger. "She's _what?!_"

"Asleep, sire," said the messenger. Oddly, he wasn't trembling in fear of the dark god. Instead, he wore a calm, peaceful expression on his face, his eyes sparkling.

"How?"

"That's not all, sire," the messenger continued in a ridiculously upbeat voice. "Those souls you punished? Ixion's wheel does not turn; Sisyphus sits at rest; and Tantalus has forgotten his thirst and dips no more."

Hades' eyes widened, and he began to storm in that direction, but something else gave him pause.

The goddesses Megaera, Tisiphone, and Allecto were passing through, their blood-red gowns swishing around them.

They were _weeping_. Loudly.

Which may not have been so surprising if these three weren't the horrible Furies, punishers of evil mortals.

"What the hell is going on here..."

Then he heard it. A musical note...a tune...a melody. It was drifting into the palace, growing louder as the minutes passed.

Hades began to raise his voice, but a strange feeling overcame him, and he quieted. He did not sense his face twisting into a peaceful guise, his lips stretching into a smile.

A young man strolled into his palace, with shoulder-length white hair and smoky grey eyes. He held a lyre, stroking it softly, and his mouth was open in song, his voice resonating in a beautiful melody.

Hades sat back in his throne, his eyes begging for the lyrist to come near.

Kunzite did come near. He was so nervous he had to consciously tell his knees not to knock, but he kept his voice steady and sweet as he segued into another song – one he had prepared especially for that day.

"_O Gods who rule the dark and silent world,_

_To you all born of a woman needs must come._

_All lovely things at last go down to you._

_You are the debtor who is always paid._

_A little while we tarry up on earth._

_Then we are yours forever and forever._

_But I seek one who came to you too soon._

_The bud was plucked before the flower bloomed._

_I tried to bear my loss. I could not bear it._

_Love was too strong a god. O King, you know_

_If that old tale men tell is true, how once_

_The flowers saw the rape of Proserpina._

_Then weave again for sweet Minako_

_Life's pattern that was taken from the loom_

_Too quickly. See, I ask a little thing,_

_Only that you will lend, not give, her to me._

_She shall be yours when her years' span is full_."

Hades sighed and closed his eyes, and Kunzite continued to strum, although he quieted his voice to wait for an answer.

Then Hades lifted his hand, and a messenger fled.

"Turn your head, talented lyrist," Hades told Kunzite, and he obediently turned around.

A few second passed, and then Kunzite heard Hades speak again. "Behind you my messenger leads Minako by the hand," he said. "You may take her back to the upperworld to live the rest of her years. However," he added quickly, "you _must not_ turn to look at her before she comes out of the Underworld. Otherwise, she will return to me, and you will not have a second chance."

Kunzite nodded, and he felt a hand being placed in his.

"Go now," Hades said.

Kunzite nodded again and gave the feminine hand he felt a slight tug. The two of them began walking towards the entrance to the Underworld, where Kunzite had come in.

All through the journey back to the daylight Kunzite longed to turn around and see his wife. He knew he had to trust that the god had really given him back his Minako, but besides confirming it, he only wanted to turn and see her lovely face, moving and alive, once again, and to make sure she was following him all right, not slipping and falling. But he restrained himself as he and his wife climbed the rocky crags out of the underworld.

Finally, his face turned up into the light of day. He nimbly jumped out of the hole in the ground, stared up at the sunlight happily, and turned, ecstatic, to take his wife into his arms.

She was there, as beautiful as ever, her face dappled by the sunlight. She started to smile, and then her expression changed into one of despair. She reached a hand out for him, then turned it and waved.

Too late he realized his mistake.

He was out of the underworld – but his fair bride was _not_.

"Minako!" he cried, running towards her.

"Farewell, my love," she sobbed, and her soul disappeared into the darkness.

"MINAKO! NO!"

* * *

Kuzite trudged away from the giant hole, sobbing uncontrollably. He had the chance to save his wife – and failed.

That bitter thought only loudened his wails, and he threw his lyre to the ground. How useless it had become against his own stupidity.

He walked with his head down, not watching his way, and that was the cause of him bumping into someone.

"The stupidity of a helpless lover," she snarled.

Kunzite lifted his head. Standing before him was a hideous woman, hair matted and knotted, arms and legs bony as Death, teeth stained with the red blood of a kill.

"A Maenad," he said.

"Maenad I am, with a proposition for you," she said, putting her fists on her hips. "Your wife lays beneath the Underworld because of your fault. The gods will not allow her to come up again, as you cannot re-enter the Underworld alive. But..."

Kunzite's eyes grew interest.

"But, you may enter _dead_."

His eyes darkened.

"She would not be dead if you had protected her better – twice!" the Maenad shrieked, pointing at Kunzite accusingly. "Sell your soul for hers. A soul for a soul. You will be replaced with her." 

"She owns my love and my soul. I'll do it," he said.

The Maenad cackled loudly and grabbed the young musician, the two of them disappearing into thin air.


	23. The Manipulation

**The Manipulation**

"So Hades actually brought you back to the Underworld?" Serenity asked.

"Yes, of course," Minako said. "Hades does not have to swear by the Styx – he always keeps his word, no matter what. He said it pained him to do so." Minako shook her head angrily. "I don't believe him. Beryl came and told me what happened after I was taken back here. But she doesn't keep her promises. I was never brought back to the upperworld – I remain here, but life was restored to me. If I were to escape, I could survive above ground. But...Beryl and Hades make sure I will never escape."

"Minako," Serenity said, placing a soft hand on Minako's arm, "what can you tell me about Hades' relationship with Beryl?"

Minako smiled devilishly. "All have one above them, except Zeus," she said. "Hades is Beryl's master. And she...is his mistress."

Serenity's eyes widened, a strange, almost-smiling expression coming over her face. "Are you serious?"

"Yes," Minako said, bobbing her head. "One picks up many bits and pieces living here, and I have pieced it together into a story. Beryl has always lusted after Endymion, from the day she laid eyes on him, but he would have none of her. So Beryl decided, after her father died, that she would terrorize Endymion into agreeing to marry her and unite their kingdoms. She also lives to conquer the world, as her father always wished to – Erebus was a small and weak kingdom before Beryl made it strong. Most of all, her father hated the Moon Kingdom, and I imagine she hates it even more, since you are from there and have taken Endymion's heart. So she has three wishes in life. One, to obtain Endymion for her own; two, to continue her father's dream and gain the world for Erebus; and three, to destroy the great Moon Kingdom.

"Hades, like all his evil servants, knows how to strike a good deal. He admired Beryl and wished to have a beautiful mistress. So he agreed to a bond between Erebus and the underworld, to give Beryl dominion over souls and great powers like a sorceress. But he wished only one thing of her."  
  
"And that is?"  
  
"That she eat a pomegranate."

Serenity laughed. "I'll bet Beryl jumped at that."

"She did," Minako said. "She ate the pomegranate and swallowed six of its seeds. Beryl didn't know about the mandate – her father despised the gods and was a converted Christian – that if you eat in the underworld, there you must remain. Because she swallowed six seeds, Beryl must remain under Hades' control for six months of the year, and the rest of the year, she is free to do as she pleases."

"Wow," Serenity said. "I suppose now Beryl can do as she pleases."

"Yes, and she has one more month as such. But then Hades controls her, just as she controls everyone beneath him."

"What does he do with her when she is under his control?"

Minako gave her a look, and Serenity shuddered.

"Minako," she said, "the Time Guardian told me to speak to Tereisias, the blind prophet. Why must I?"

"She believes you are the one who will save us," Minako says. "I will take you to Tereisias, but we must hurry. Beryl does not like the Underworld and does not come here often, nor does she look upon it. But Hades will know. He has no use for any of the rest of us, only Beryl, and he will destroy us easily."

* * *

Tereisias was not a handsome, playful oracle, like Apollo. He was an old man with a wrinkled face, and two hollow, rapidly moving eyes that focused on nothing. He sat in a corner of the Dark Palace, rocking himself. But he sensed with Serenity and Minako arrived, and he stopped rocking, lifting his unseeing eyes.

Serenity looked at Minako questioningly, and she nodded.

"Queen Serenity, of Elysian," he intoned. "Or, Princess Serenity, of the Moon Kingdom. And my Golden One. Come, sit."

Minako led Serenity to sit before Tereisias, and he laid a hand on her arm.

"The Time Guardian sent you," he said kindly. "What does she want me to tell you?"

"I...I don't know," Serenity said, her voice trembling.

"You are frightened," Tereisias said. "Do not be frightened of me. I will not hurt you, only tell you what you need to know. Tell me, child, what she told you."

Serenity looked at Minako, and she smiled. "He already knows," she whispered. "He wants to see if you do."

Serenity sighed. "The Death Soldier told me that Hades and Beryl took everyone's souls, except for hers, the Time Guardian's, and the Golden One's. She said that Beryl steals them steadily by the various tasks they do. She told me that Beryl had more power than I could imagine.

"The Time Guardian was not as clear with her statements. She said that Beryl is searching, but for what, I don't know. And she said something about me being 'born of the crystal'. And then she told me to come see you. And the Golden One told me of Beryl's power and her agreement with Hades." She paused. "That's all I remember."

Tereisias gave pause, his head bowed low to the ground, deep in thought. Then he raised his eyes to Serenity.

"My child, there is much to tell," he said.

Then he began to spin his story.

* * *

"What _is_ taking that girl so long?" Beryl said, walking through the hallways of Golden Palace alone. Serenity had not returned from her quest yet, and the Erebese queen had mixed feelings about that. If Serenity had indeed died on her quest, she would be glad to be rid of her, but Endymion would hate her forever.

She had to find a way to transfer that hate away from herself to someone else.

She looked around her. She had reached the palace's sanctuary, a temple that Helios had set up for Endymion's worship to the gods. She had rarely been in a sanctuary, her father being a confirmed Christian and in the process of getting everyone in the family that way, but she had never taken to Christianity and preferred the beautiful haven of the gods and their worship.

Besides, she knew firsthand that they existed.

She shivered. She only had one more month to make her plans work. She refused to ever again go back to Hades and be subjected to him and his hard, cold lust.

The next time someone entered her, she wanted it to be Endymion.

"I wish I could get out of here," she heard. It was Helios' voice, coming from the sanctuary, where he had been locked. Beryl knew Helios had the power to turn into a pegasus, and she didn't want to risk him flying away and doing something stupid.

"Me, too," she heard Endymion respond, and she stopped in her tracks and decided to listen to their conversation. "If I could find a way to get you out, even if Beryl tortured me for days I'd still do it."

Beryl's eyes widened. Their friendship was that strong?

"Thank you, my prince," said Helios sheepishly. "I would gladly do the same for you...but it seems I am the one who is bound. Funny, I'm supposed to be the one watching over you," he added embarrassedly. "The guards won't even let me go to the kitchen. I'm glad you brought my food, but I wish I could eat with you."

"No, you don't," Endymion said, exasperated. "I have to eat with Beryl at my side. The choir's voices fade as they watch her walk in. And she is so pushy it's amazing. She's trying to get me to sleep with her..."

"It may lessen your pain."

"I could never betray Serenity like that. And I will never touch that snake."

Beryl hissed. How dare he. He could never betray _Serenity_? What about his betrayal of _her_? _She_ saw him _first_!

"You ought to get her with one of your lead-tipped arrows, Endymion. She'll never look at you again."

The two of them laughed.

Suddenly Beryl smiled, and crept away from the sanctuary.

* * *

"This is stupid."

The guard looked at his companion as if he had suddenly turned into a three-headed dog. "Are you crazy? Beryl could still be around."

"She's asleep. Or trying to get the prince to sleep with her. Are you sure you didn't think of this yourself?"

"Hey, I'm tired of watching the this guy too, but not that tired. Anyway, she didn't tell me what she meant by this, and this might not even be Endymion's arrow. And even if it is, it may not be _that_ kind of arrow. I was only assuming."

The other guard snatched it from his friend and held it in his face. The arrow glowed brightly in the moonlight, a brilliant gold color, with an even more brilliant tip.

The first guard stepped back. "Okay, point taken. Be careful with that thing, will you? I'm not trying to get struck."

"No..." The second guard grinned devilishly, and the two of them burst into laughter.

"What is it that makes a guy want to make a weapon like this?"

"I don't know, but I don't know why Beryl just doesn't stick him in the ass with it and be done with it."

"Someone's own magic won't work against himself, stupid," said the first guard, shoving his friend. Then they continued towards their guard stations. Their charge was sleeping, well-bound.

"All right, remember the plan," he said. "Be careful when he wakes up. You don't want to be the first person he sees!"

The second guard grinned. "Don't worry. I got this down."

There was the sound of feet running, and then two large thumps.

* * *

Helios woke with a start, then shook his head, his cloudlike hair shaking around his face. What the...? He rubbed his face with his hands.

His hands!

He quickly looked down and about himself. His hands and legs were unbound, the ropes laying on the floor. He almost let out a cry of joy. Endymion. He had _freed_ him!

But how?

Helios shook his head of questions. No time to think. There was no reason anyone else in the palace would have saved him – everyone was closely guarded at this time of night, except Endymion. He turned over, spotted the slip of paper, squinted, then read it.

Of course!

He jumped up and ran out of the room. There was a magic block on the room, so he couldn't assume his pegasus form until he was out. Until then, he was vulnerable. He must remain quiet.

The first guard, apparently knocked out and sprawled across the floor, had his hand in the path of the door, and Helios stepped right on it.

He awoke with a jolt, then cried out to his partner. They jumped up and started to chase the priest. His eyes widened, and he ran from them, struggling to get away from the magic block.

Free! He quickly initiated his transformation.

The first guard stood behind the priest and stuck him in the leg with the golden-tipped arrow. Helios howled with pain.

The second guard waited. He dodged Helios's emerging white wings and ran to the front of the pegasus, avoiding the sunset eyes. They elongated along with his face, and he jumped on the pegasus's back, slinging a white cloth around his eyes.

Helios whinnied and bucked, and the second guard secured the knot and fell off his back.

Taking a running start, Helios flew out of the window.

The two guards watched him leave, stunned.

Then they turned to each other and slapped hands.

"You think he suspected anything?"

"Nah, he was in too much of a hurry."

"Good. What'd you write to make him so hurried, anyway?"

" 'She's in the Underworld. Hurry!' "

* * *

"That was incredible!" Serenity said, her eyes opened wide.

"I know," said Minako, frowning. "But we have got to get out of here, quick. Tereisias is going to distract Hades with a pleasing prophecy. We've got to hurry. We won't be safe until we're out of the Underworld; Hades can't track us once we leave, since we're both alive."

They passed through the gates of the Dark Palace. The Time Guardian's eyes filled with hope when she saw them, but she said nothing to slow them.

They rushed towards the Death Soldier. She was making an exchange with a new soul, sending him on his way towards the Time Guardian. When she lifted her eyes, she was greeted with the sight of Serenity and Minako.

"You're here," she cried.

"Quickly, we need to get across the Acheron," Minako said. "Can you ferry us both at once?"

"No," the Death Soldier said. "There's no room, and besides, the power signature from the both of you would set Hades off wondering why there's so many alive in the boat. He's expecting Serenity to go back; there can only be two live people in here at once. But I can ferry you across one by one."

Minako and Serenity exchanged glances.

"Serenity should go first," Minako said. "I've got to protect her at all costs. That's what Tereisias said."

The Death Soldier nodded, and motioned for Serenity to get in the boat.

Serenity stared at Minako for a long while as they rowed off. "She'll be all right," the Death Soldier finally assured her, and she could see Minako no more anyway. She turned towards the front and faced the opposite shore.

The Death Soldier reached the other side in record time, then set Serenity upon the banks. "Wait here for Minako," she said. "I don't want you two to be separated."

Serenity nodded, then watched the Death Soldier row off towards the other side, the screams always accompanying her.

* * *

The arrow stuck in Helios's leg was extremely painful, and the blindfold over his eyes hindered his flight, but in order to remedy both situations, he'd have to have hands, and he it would've taken too long to transform back into his human form, get the arrow out, and fashion a tourniquet for the wound. At least the arrow, however painful it was, was inducing pressure on his veins so he wouldn't bleed out.

Besides, even a blind horse could find the way to the underworld.

Helios flew over the dark valleys, unseeing, until he knew he was almost near the giant hole in the Earth. He alighted, pawing his hoof around until he felt the edge of the hole, then dropped down it on outstretched wings, floating to the ground with a thud.

Serenity whirled when she heard the thud behind her, and her mouth dropped open when she realized it was Helios. "Helios! Oh my god," she whispered, running to her friend. "What happened to you? How did you know where I was?"

"Endymion," Helios gasped. He slumped on the floor, sprawled in pegasus form. His power started to give out – his leg was beginning to bleed out – and his form flickered, then he slowly transformed back into his normal human form.

"Helios! Oh, you're hurt!" She ran to him, kneeling besides his prone body. "You've got something around your eyes...a blindfold? Who did this to you? Let me get it off."

She reached behind his head, and untied the blindfold.

Helios weakly opened his eyes and looked at her.

* * *

"DAMN YOU!" Beryl yelled, stomping her feet and waving her arms in the air. She was putting on quite a show. "How did you manage to let him get away!?!"

The guards appeared frightened. "Someone came in the middle of the night and cut his cords, m'lady. He escaped the magic block and flew away!"

"AND NOW THE PEGASUS IS IN THE UNDERWORLD WITH THE MOON PRINCESS!"

Endymion stopped in his tracks, backtracked quickly, and joined the room where Beryl and the two guards were.

One of the guards shifted his eyes in his direction.

Beryl looked discreetly, and smiled inwardly. Then she started the viewfinder in her palm. This was going to zap her power, but it was well worth it.

She smiled when she saw the scene. The show had begun.

"We don't know that for sure, m'lady," one of the guards said, trying to control his laughter.

"See for yourself, you dimwits!" she said, and swung the orb around so they, too, could see the scene unfolding – and so Endymion could benefit as well.

Serenity was holding Helios's blindfold, and Helios was staring at her as if he had never seen her in his life.

"My queen," he whispered.

"Helios, I'm so happy to see you," Serenity exclaimed, throwing her arms around Helios. "What happened to you? Are you hurt?"

"Not anymore." Helios lifted a finger and started to trace a pattern across Serenity's cheek, wrapping the other one around her waist and drawing her closer to him.

Endymion recoiled.

Serenity looked down and took Helios's hand tenderly. "I was so worried when I saw you drop out of the sky like that. I thought I was about to lose you for good. Are you sure you're okay? "

"Yes," Helios breathed, his eyes sparkling. "You're beautiful."

Serenity blushed. "Thank you," she said.

"I love you, Serenity," Helios blurted out.

Serenity looked up at Helios in confusion; to Endymion, it appeared to be wistfulness. He watched with burning jealousy as Helios took his finger and tipped up Serenity's chin, bringing his lips down to kiss the moon princess.

"No," Endymion whispered.

Beryl and the two guards whirled as if they had just noticed Endymion in the room. Beryl's eyes filled with surprise, and in her "surprise", the vision popped out of existence. "Endymion," she said.

"Traitor," Endymion said, his eyes filled with hurt and hatred. "Liar...traitor...ungrateful bitches!"

He turned and ran from the room.


	24. The Attack

**The Attack**

Serenity shoved the white-haired priest away from her.

"What are you doing, Helios?" she exclaimed. "You're Endymion's best friend – how could you"?

"I must," he said. "I can't hold it in any longer. Serenity, I loved from when I first saw you. I was jealous when Endymion took you home, but I was so glad he couldn't see you during the day."

He reached for her again, but she scooted away from him.

As Minako neared the bank of the Acheron, she was privy to Helios lunging yet again for Serenity, fixing his arms around her and pressing her against the cavern wall, preparing to kiss her again.

"I could have you all to myself. Please, love me, Serenity!"

"Hey! Hey, stop it!" Minako jumped out of the boat before it even touched the shore, waving her arms at Helios. He paid her no attention.

"Unhand Queen Serenity!" She rushed towards Helios and Serenity, shoved him with all her might, and then kicked him between the legs.

Helios howled.

"Wait, Minako—"

Helios growled and started back towards Serenity, but stopped dead in his tracks. A wicked silver scythe was pointed directly at his heart.

He followed the pole up to its owner. The Death Soldier stood at the other end of it, a menacing look on her face.

"You will not go near Queen Serenity again," she said calmly. "Do you hear?"

"Stick him through, Saturn!"

"Yes, stick me through," Helios said miserably. "If I cannot go near my beloved Serenity again, I might as well be dead."

"What?!" Serenity took a few steps forward. "Saturn, don't stab him. This is Helios, the priest of Elysian."

"Oh – you said _priest_, not _prince_?!"

"No!" Serenity put her hand on the Death Soldier's shoulder, who had not relaxed her guard. "Helios is the _priest_, I'm married to the _prince_. Helios is just my friend and spiritual advisor. But I have no idea what's gotten into him now!"

"I'm in love with you," he said plaintively.

"He's not in love with me," Serenity said desperately.

The Death Soldier cocked an eyebrow.

Helios sat on the floor, his eyes filled with tears. "Please let me touch her once more," he cried.

Serenity's mouth dropped open, Saturn struggled not to laugh, and Minako stared at Helios's bleeding leg.

"Oh, my goodness," she said, and she knelt besides Helios and turned his leg over. He tried to jerk back, but her grip was firm and he only ended up knocking his head against the cavern wall, which made the stoic Death Soldier break into wild laughter.

Serenity gasped. "He's been stabbed in the leg!"

Minako shook her head. "He's been lovestruck," she said.

"What?"

"Lovestruck." She shot a quick look at Helios, who stared at her, and then swiftly pulled the arrow shaft from his leg. Helios screamed.

"This," she said, gesturing to the weapon, "is a Golden Arrow of Eros. The tip is dipped in melted gold enchanted with love-power. The arrow has a double effect. It not only physically hurts whoever is struck with it, it also causes that person to fall in love with the first person he or she sees." Minako smiled at Helios, who looked at her in disbelief. "It was also a favorite weapon of King Eros of Elysian."

Helios shook his head, groaned, then stared back at the arrow. "That's what's happening to me?"

Minako nodded. "If he said anything about loving you all along, it probably wasn't true. He only started loving you when he first saw you."

Serenity smiled a little, suppressing a giggle. "So, what do we do to heal him? Or is he already healed because you told him?"

"Far from it," said Minako, smiling herself. "The only person who can heal him is the one who owns the arrows' magic – which would be Endymion, Eros's son. Until then, Helios is going to be loving – and lusting after – you."

Serenity glanced at Helios, whose face turned a deep red color.

Saturn laughed again.

* * *

Beryl glided into Endymion's bedroom, holding a tray with two teacups. She had finally retrieved the beauty charm from Serenity, hastily visiting the hole by the Underworld where Serenity had emerged into the daylight with the mirrored box. She hardly had time to wonder how she had survived in the Underworld, and didn't really care. Endymion was lost to her now.

Now was her chance to win Endymion over, and she had to be completely beautiful.

She gently set the tray on Endymion's nightstand. The young king was slumped over the bed. She placed a hand on his back.

"Endymion?"

Surprisingly, the king didn't ignore her as he normally did, or shrug her hand off. He lifted his head weakly, his eyes a bleary red color from crying, and stared at Beryl questioningly.

The surprised expression on Beryl's face was very becoming on her, and for a moment she was at a loss for words, her mouth hanging open, her hazel eyes wide.

"I...I came to bring you something to drink. You've been locked in here all day."

He slumped back over the bed, seemingly ignoring her.  
  
"Endymion, please. You may not believe me, but I actually do care about you."

He raised his head back up, and this time his eyes were angry, not sick. "You care about me? You lock me in my own bedchamber, take over my palace, allow your servants to run rampant over mine, and yet you _care_ about me?" He made a rude noise. "Some caring!"

"Well, you've never let me _show_ it to you," Beryl shot back, putting her hands on her hips. "I've always wanted to. You've always ignored me!"

"I never ignored you!" he replied loudly. The king had been sitting in his bed for a few days, and had simmered and cried over his pitiable condition, and now he was ready to yell. Beryl was a good person on whom to take out his anger. "I always treated you civilly, even when our fathers were alive and feuding! You _were_ my _friend, _before you started threatening me and my kingdom!"

Beryl sighed exasperatedly. "That's just it!" she said. "I was always your _friend_. I..." She turned her eyes down. "I wanted to be _more_ than your friend. It made me angry. It made me resort to other measures. The only reason I ever terrorized you and threatened you is because that was the only way I could get you to realize I wanted to be with you!"

This made Endymion sit up fully, cocking an eyebrow at Beryl. This was not the discussion he had been expecting. He wanted to get angry, to yell, to let out some of the fury that he had inside. Beryl's conversation topic was delving into the soft.

But it intrigued him.

"Did you?"

Beryl nodded, her eyes still downcast. She was trying to be manipulative. But she couldn't help letting some of her real feelings show to Endymion, and that was exactly what was happening...she just hoped he took them genuinely.

"You never noticed me the way I wanted you to. You were always off in your own thoughts..."

Endymion turned away from her, and stared out of the window of his palace to the blue skies outside.

"What are you going to do now, Beryl?"

She smiled. _Here we go._ "Attack the Moon Kingdom."

Endymion's eyes whipped to Beryl. Her face wasn't held down anymore – she was staring, triumphantly, at the king. "Attack the Moon?" _Serenity's home. Those that betrayed me. In the past...and in the present._

"Yes. It's not just a long-held grudge of mine...it was my father's dream. He hated the Moon Kingdom as much as your father did. And..." Beryl smiled fetchingly at the king, her cheeks turning a becoming pink. "I think the Moon King...and Serenity...should pay for how they betrayed you."

Endymion narrowed his eyes, but Beryl sounded completely genuine. He had a sixth sense about him – he could tell when someone was lying.

Beryl wasn't.

The ice remained in his eyes, but it wasn't directed towards Beryl.

"She should," he agreed, his voice sharp.

"I want to do this...for you." Beryl leaned forward and tentatively placed her hand on Endymion's.

He looked at it. He twitched instinctively, as if to pull his hand away, but something about Beryl's earnest eyes made him not only leave his hand where it was, but made him place his other hand on hers.

Beryl closed her eyes and concentrated.

Endymion's eyes flashed a dangerous, fiery blue. They darkened.

"I want to help."

* * *

The worst thing about the attack was that it was totally unexpected.

One moment, it was a peaceful night, the Earth glowing benevolently in the sky, and the next, there were screams outside.

King Hyperion peered over the ledge of his balcony in the study and gasped loudly. A shock force of black-suited warriors closing in on his guards, striking them down one by one.

He turned his head to the sky and uttered a short prayer to Selene. Then he called his messenger.

"Call together the Silver Army...it's a surprise attack."

The Moon King's army gathered as quickly as possible – the moon was a small satellite, and it didn't take very long for them to converge on the palace – but as by the time they got there, the Erebese armies were away at the peaceful populations living outside the palace.

People were dying. Soldiers were falling, covered in blood, missing limbs and more horrendous parts of their bodies. The Erebese were merciless slaughterers, leaving their dead lying around on the ground, looking up triumphantly towards the palace after every kill.

And there was something else...King Hyperion sensed it, but he couldn't place his finger on it. There was a difference in this fight, different from the foot soldiers he had encountered on Earth.

He drew a deep breath and drew his sword with it, and ran out of his study. He had to lead his troops.

* * *

Queen Serenity knew exactly what it was.

_Magic_.

The swirls of color and sparkle were faint and hard to catch, but she saw them overtake the palace. A swirl of red set the foundation on fire. The palace was going to crumble from the bottom under. But the regal queen could not bring herself away from the balcony, watching the carnage on the ground below.

She heard a clacking of heels and a swishing of skirts behind her, and she turned. It was her daughter, Trivia, rushing into her bedchambers.

"Mother!" she exclaimed, her arms outstretched towards Queen Serenity. "Come on – we must get out of here!"

Queen Serenity shook her head.

"_Mother_!"

"It's no use, Trivia," Serenity said, turning back to the window. "The Erebese and Elysianites are not just out to destroy the palace. They will conquer the entire planet. They are here to devastate the Moon. It was a grave mistake." She shook her head. "This, all my fault. Everything."

Trivia stared at her mother. "What in heaven's name are you talking about? Mother, we _must_ go!"

"Where is your sister?"

Trivia felt her heart drop in her stomach. "My sister?" she asked guardedly.

"Diana."

Relief overcame her. "I don't—"

"Mother!" Diana ran into the room; unlike her twin, she wasn't thinking rationally. She was sobbing, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Mother! I'm sorry! This is all our fault – we never meant..."

"Diana!" Trivia worriedly put her hands at her mouth, biting her lips. "Diana, don't..."

Diana stopped in her tracks, then whirled to face her sister. Her light blue eyes were cold. "Maybe you can take the guilt and the hurt, but I can't. I have to tell!"

Trivia's eyes grew angry. "I can take the guilt no better than you!" she said. "Don't you think it's eating me alive as well?"

"Then why don't you confess the truth?"

"There is no point in making Mother more distressed than she already is!"

"Girls," said Queen Serenity in a calming voice, and the two sisters turned to each other. "Whatever are you talking about?"

Trivia cast her eyes to the side, and Diana eyed her angrily. Then she spoke. "Serenity was never married to an evil serpent-god."

Queen Serenity's eyes changed to confusion.

"We saw her," she said, turning her eyes to Trivia. "Trivia and I. We were weeping at the summit where she was laid, and two pegasi appeared to us, one with a golden horn. The one with the golden horn spoke to us, and told us that he would take us to our sister if we would not be afraid."

Queen Serenity gasped lightly.

"We climbed upon them and rode. They took us to the most delightful valley ever! It was so beautiful. In the midst of it there was a golden palace, bedecked with jewels. We heard voices, but saw no one. Invisible servants led us inside and took care of us."

"Elysian," Queen Serenity breathed. "You were in the land of Elysian."

Trivia's eyes looked shocked. "But...Orcas said that Elysian was one of the lands that attacked us. Why would Serenity attack her home, even if she was angry with us?"

"Why would she be angry with you?" Queen Serenity asked.

This time, both girls turned their eyes away.

But Trivia spoke.

"Serenity met us in the foyer," she said. "She was alive and well. She said...she was married to the king of Elysian."

Serenity gasped. "Endymion," she said. "The son of Eros. Oh, my...I knew. I knew."

"She was so regally clothed," Diana continued. "She looked very wealthy. The palace was beautiful and expensive. _Everything_ she had was beautiful and expensive. She looked so happy, so wealthy, so well-off..."

"We became jealous of her," Trivia admitted.

"So horribly jealous...that we began to plot against her," Diana said, ashamedly. "We figured that Serenity must not be able to see her husband, either, because she kept making excuses about why he was gone."

"So we tricked her into telling us that and we persuaded her to try and see her husband...and kill him."

Serenity gasped again.

"We didn't know who he was," Diana said quickly. "We told her it was probably the horrible serpent-god using some of his magic to disguise himself. We weren't trying to protect her, though. We were just jealous of her success...she's always the prettiest one, the luckiest one."

"I don't know whether she killed him or not," Trivia said. "But something terrible must have happened...because I started having terrible dreams...about the kingdom being destroyed by a tidal wave."

"You, too?" Diana stared at her sister in shock. "I had the same dream, except the kingdom was being destroyed by a storm."

"I thought the Furies were punishing us," Trivia said.

"Me too," said Diana. "And I felt like they were destroying the kingdom to punish us, too. That's why I was so distraught.

"My daughters," Queen Serenity said, with tears in her eyes. The girls turned towards her. "This isn't any mystical sort of punishment, any Furies. This is just plain old Terran payback."

"What?"

Queen Serenity sighed, then turned to the blackened sky. The Erebese, it seemed, had acquired black magic along with their horrible fighting force. Her eyes widened.

They must know, so they could fight. They were all in danger.

"Come, my girls," she said, motioning to the bed. "There is time for one last story. And this will be the most important one you will ever hear in your lives."


	25. The Wish

**The Wish**

The regal queen turned her silvery eyes to stare out of the window of the surrey, envying the lush green land. It was so beautiful here in...what had her husband told her? Yes. Elysian.

Elysian. It sounded like something out of a pure dream.

She felt a hand rest on hers and turned to smile at her husband, Hyperion. They'd been invited to the beautiful land by Hyperion's colleague King Eros and his beautiful, benevolent, and purportedly magical wife, Queen Psyche.

However, like everyone else, they were taken on an ambiguous, cloaked surrey ride, the direction to Elysian's Golden Palace being very guarded.

"Look, Hyperion! It's simply beautiful."

King Hyperion turned his eyes to where his wife was pointing. "Yes, Golden Palace is quite beautiful, isn't?" He smiled. "It's enchanted. Most times, you can't see it – it's magically cloaked. Usually, King Eros entertains his guests in the embassy. But he said that we were special guests, and he wanted us to stay in his home."

Queen Serenity smiled. "How thoughtful of him."

The surrey bumped to a pleasant stop in front of the palace, and the footman helped the king and queen climb out. Queen Serenity stared once again at the magnificent palace. It really was superbly beautiful.

"My king, my queen," said a voice, and the two lowered their eyes to the doors.

There was no one there.

"Do not be frightened, your highnesses," said the guards at the door. "We are unseen guards. The king wishes us that way for surprise attackers. You may enter."

"Once inside, do not be afraid," said another guard's voice. "Some servants you may see, and some you may not. King Eros has decided to have friendly relations with you, and we are not required to be magically cloaked now."

Queen Serenity and King Hyperion exchanged a glance, and then stared back at the entrance to the palace. It was opening. The two of them walked into the circular great hall, looking around wonderingly.

The windows had stained glass patterns in them; the floor was encrusted with jewels. Everywhere, there were colors and lights and sparkles.

"Welcome to Golden Palace," they heard. This time it was a young voice, and they instinctively looked downwards. Walking towards them was a little boy with sunset eyes and cloud-colored hair, an impish smile lining his lips. "We've been waiting for you."

King Hyperion laughed, and Queen Serenity clapped her hands.

"Well delivered, Helios," said another voice, and the king and queen looked up to see another regal form approaching them. The tall man had jet-black hair streaked with silver and sparkling green eyes, tempered with a warm smile. He spread his arms. "I am King Eros. This is Helios, our young priest-in-training." He smiled warmly at the little boy, who cutely smiled back.

"And I am Queen Psyche," another voice said. Golden lights began dancing in the hall, and they slowly took the form of a shapely woman. They solidified into a regal female form, with long, wavy light blonde tresses and deep ocean blue eyes. "And this," she said, gesturing to her side, "is our son, Prince Endymion."

Queen Serenity looked down, and sure enough, there appeared a flurry of blue sparkles, and the little black-haired, blue-eyed boy was standing before her, smiling. He was very handsome, and it was apparent that he would be a even more handsome man when he grew older.

"Welcome to our home," Psyche said warmly.

* * *

Queen Serenity sighed pleasantly. The bedroom that she had been invited to stay in was bright and airy, and the bed was about as plushy and soft as a bed could be.

She almost wished she could stay there forever. Her home on the moon was beautiful, too, and quite comfortable, but this was a different kind of beauty. This was like heaven on Earth.

She giggled. Well, it certainly was a heaven on Earth.

She heard a swift clacking of heels behind her, and turned around. It wasn't Hyperion, she realized. The heels were skinny and light, more feminine.

Sure enough, Queen Psyche entered the room, her pale yellow hair swishing in after her.

"Queen Serenity," she said. Her voice was warm and friendly, but there was something else in it, too – a desperate air. Her eyes shifted around the room. "Is Hyperion here?"

"No," Serenity replied. "He's speaking with King Eros. I believe they've had drinks."

Psyche smiled quickly. "Good," she said. She stepped inside the room, closing the door behind her, and then turned to face Serenity, taking a deep breath.

"Serenity, I know we don't know each other very well, at all in fact, but I must ask you to do something for me," she said. "I asked Eros to invite you and your husband here. I need you to do something for me."

Serenity stared at the queen. "What is it?" she asked.

Queen Psyche sighed and looked down at her stomach. She placed a hand on it. "I'm pregnant," she said.

Serenity's eyes widened. "Really?" She smiled brightly. "Congratulations!" She had been trying to get pregnant for some time now, but for some reason, she wasn't able to. It was devastating, and she felt a pang of jealousy for Psyche.

"It's a wonderful thing," said Psyche wistfully. "I really wish...I could carry the babies."

Serenity cocked her head to the side. "Why can't you?"

"Because..." The queen looked away, biting her lip. "I'm going to die, Serenity."

Serenity's eyes widened. "What? But...you can't know that." She softened. "You look so healthy, Psyche."

"That's not it," Queen Psyche said. "I can't explain it, and even if I could, you wouldn't understand. I...I _know_ things. It is a gift and a curse." She looked back down at her stomach. "I know I am going to die, but it is not my babies' destiny to die. They must live. There is a purpose for them." She looked up at Serenity. "And this is where my favor comes in."

Serenity listened.

"I...I want you to carry my babies for me. To _have_ my babies for me."

Serenity's eyes grew to the size of saucers. "You want me to...what?"

"Carry my babies for me," she said. "The men must not know...you and I must be the only ones to know. I will give them to you, magically. You must lay with Hyperion tonight, and he will think they are his children. I have not told Eros that I am pregnant again, and he won't know."

"Psyche..."

"Please, Serenity," she said. "If you do this for me, I will give you something in return."

Serenity looked to the ceiling. She wondered what the Elysian queen could possibly give in return for such a favor.

"What would that be?"

Psyche took one of her hands from behind her back. Between her index finger and thumb was a small silver crystal. "It is not just a bauble," she said, noticing Serenity's skeptical look. "It is called the Mystical Silver Crystal. You may use it's great power in times of distress for your kingdom. And...after you have completed my favor..." She smiled. "It will also grant you one wish."

"One wish?" Serenity raised her eyebrows. "Any wish I want?"

"Anything."

Serenity thought, then cocked a head to the side. "I will do it," she said.

A smile sprung to Psyche's face. "Oh, thank you, Serenity," she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Serenity's neck. "Thank you so much. I will be forever indebted to you." She took a deep breath, and stepped back. "Are you ready?"

"You're going to do it _now_?"

"I must. After you leave Elysian, I won't get another chance. And I have already prepared myself...for the loss. I can't live with them another day, or I will kill myself with despair." She looked down at her flat stomach again with misty eyes. "Are you ready?"

Serenity nodded. "I'm ready," she said.

Psyche took a deep breath and held her hand to one side. A warm light overtook her, and a light wind seemed to rush around her, ruffling her hair and her gown.

When she opened her eyes, two orbs of light were swirling over her hand – one amber in color, the other aqua.  
  
"These are my daughters," she said, smiling. "Twins."

"Twins," Serenity breathed.

The queen held her hand towards Queen Serenity, and the moon queen stared solemnly at the two glowing lights over the earth queen's hand. Queen Psyche seemed to be staring intently at them, too. Suddenly something in her prodded them forward, and they glided, awkwardly – like two baby birds learning to fly – across the room towards Serenity's body.  
  
She felt them enter her as a warm feeling overtook her, and as suddenly as it began, it was over.

Queen Psyched looked down at her empty stomach, eyes misty. Then she looked back up at the moon queen.

"Thank you, Serenity," she whispered.

* * *

"Goodbye, King Eros, Queen Psyche," Queen Serenity said. "Thank you so much for allowing us to stay here. It was beautiful."

"I hope you both had a good time," Psyche replied pleasantly.

"Yes, we did," King Hyperion said, shooting a look at his wife. She blushed, and Eros and Psyche chuckled.

Psyche moved towards Serenity to hug her goodbye. As she pulled away from her, she paused just long enough to whisper in her ear. "Be careful what you wish for. It will undeniably come true."

Serenity nodded, fingering the small silver crystal that now hung around her neck.

* * *

Serenity looked happily at the twin cribs lying next to each other. Her beautiful twin daughters lay in them. Diana and Trivia she'd named them, after the two other goddesses of the triple moon aspect. Diana had wispy light blond hair that resembled her mother's, while Trivia had her mother's eyes, the deep blue of Earth's oceans.

Serenity bit her lip. Poor Queen Psyche. It was odd how she knew her fate even then, but it was quite true – a few months before Trivia and Diana had been born, she had been killed in a surprise attack on Elysian by an enemy kingdom that had been building hostilities with the kingdom all along. It was sad how she had died, but she had gone down fighting with all the magic in her. Her husband and young son were left to fend for themselves.

She didn't even get to meet her two beautiful daughters.

Now, Serenity had to care for them herself.

She looked down. The small silver crystal still lay against her chest, always inside her clothes. She didn't want to answer Hyperion's questions about where it came from. He was still none the wiser – he believed that Trivia and Diana were truly his daughters, from his seed.

There was the matter of the wish.

Serenity undid the clasp that kept the crystal around her neck and held it between her palms. It was so small, so innocuous-looking. How could this small silver crystal have universal power within it? The only indication that something was different about it was the warmth it emitted – a warmth not unlike body heat.

The girls were born. The crystal was accessible to her now. She could make her wish, as she pleased.

Queen Serenity smiled as she rolled the crystal between her hands, enjoying its heat. She closed her eyes and raised her chin towards the ceiling.

"I wish..."

She took a deep breath. This was truly a monumental moment. From the moment Psyche had placed the silver crystal in her grasp, she had known exactly what she would wish for.

"I wish that I could have the most beautiful baby girl in all the universe!"

* * *

"Queen Serenity!"

Serenity drew back when she heard the voice, her breath heavy.

She remembered that voice.

Into the parlor burst the haggard form of King Eros, surprising the young maids who had been prepared to enter the room. He staggered forward, heaving, and finally regained his breath and balance and stood to his full height, facing the queen.

"King Eros."

"Yes," he said. "I see you remember me." He stared silently at her.

"Is there something you wanted, Eros?" Queen Serenity asked, placing a hand on her chest, trying to stay her pounding heart.  
  
"I need my daughters."

Queen Serenity's heart caught in her throat, and she swallowed. "I don't know what you mean."

"I believe you do." He tossed something towards the moon queen.

She bent down to pick it up. It was two things, actually – two rolled up pieces of paper. She picked them up and unrolled one.

" 'My dearest daughter Trivia' –"

She gasped as she read, then dropped the scroll, violently throwing the other to the floor.

"Two scrolls – addressed to my twin daughters," King Eros said. "I didn't believe it when I read it. But Psyche can foresee things, and when she...died as she wrote in the letter – she wrote those shortly before she went, you know. They're dated. Well, when I realized that she died exactly as she wrote in the letters, I realized this was for real. And I came to you."

"You can't," Serenity said, gasping for air. "You can't just take them from me! They think—" She lowered her voice, looking about her fretfully. "They think I'm their mother."

"I know," said Eros. "And I have Endymion, which is enough for a father to raise on his own. But I don't want to take them from you. And trust me, I won't tell them anything differently from what they already know." He breathed deeply. "I need them."

"Need them for what?"

"They're..." King Eros pointed to the scrolls at Serenity's feet. "They're warriors. When we open the scrolls, nothing is there. When they open them, however...their henshin wands will appear. They're magic-wielding warriors, Serenity...they can help their homeland!"

Serenity shook her head violently.

"What...are you okay, Serenity?"

"I'm fine!" she exclaimed. "You can't take Trivia and Diana! They're...they're only eleven! They can't wield magic properly. They can't."

"Please, Serenity!" Eros took another step towards Queen Serenity. "I've already approached your husband about sending Lunar fighting forces to help us. He said he would! They won't be fighting alone, and not much. I will make sure—"

"No!" Queen Serenity shook her head more, her silver ponytails flying about her head. "No. You can't make eleven-year-olds fight."

"I'm their father!"

"Would you have them die as your wife did?!"

She didn't mean to say it, and the moment it was out of her mouth, she regretted it, clapping her hands over her mouth. But it was too late; it was said, and Eros's face was already crumbling.

Then he shook his head, and his face set. His eyes were stony when he regarded Queen Serenity again.

"You scorn the prophecy. You will regret this!"


	26. The Understanding

**The Understanding**

"So you see, my daughters," Queen Serenity said, looking down at her daughters, "this is not the result of any punishment for anything that you did to your sister. This is...my fault."

"So..." Trivia thought. "So, is that what you meant when you told Serenity that her having to marry a serpent-god was your fault?"

"You have a good memory," Serenity said, nodding. "Yes, that is exactly what I meant. You see...what Eros meant by me scorning the prophecy...well, you'll see. In your letters, it is explained that the Moon and the Earth are inherently bonded somehow. I never believed it. As a matter of fact, Eros scared me so thoroughly, I told Hyperion to stop sending help to his kingdom. I think that's why, in part, that the Elysianites fell so hard below the Erebese, and would have lost.

"However, this war ended strangely. Both kings were killed within a few days of each other – before the report could reach the land about one, the other was killed. So their children, Prince Endymion and Princess Beryl, rose to the thrones, and to the helm of the war. Beryl knew she had the upper hand, but something happened and she stopped the war. I'm not completely sure of the details, but everything just – stopped. She continued to have her armies occupy the outlying areas of Elysian, forcing all their people to reassume their magical cloaking. But they weren't fighting anymore.

"But Endymion was several years older than you girls; I'm sure he was probably fighting and knew about the Moon's retreat, and I thought it was only a matter of time before he enacted his revenge on the Moon, especially since Beryl's father hated the Moon and they were now in Elysian. I thought they would have joined up much more quickly than before.

"But when Serenity was called to...to marry some serpent-god...I figured that was my punishment for being so selfish, that my one wish was going to be taken away from me. Somehow she ended up on Earth. I think Elysian used its magic to trick Hyperion, and when we left Serenity on the summit, she was actually taken to Earth; somehow the prince there decided to have him for herself, married her, and now she's in some kind of trouble, while they're attacking the Moon Kingdom."

Queen Serenity finally fell silent, and the three women stared at each other solemnly.

"So...now what?"

Serenity smiled, then stood. "Now...you really must fight. As your father wished you to. Against Erebus."

"But – the war against Erebus is obviously over," Diana said, standing up as well. "Elysian and Erebus are partnered. And in addition to that, no matter where my original mother was, the Moon is my home. I will fight for the Moon!"

"Diana, darling, there is _nothing_ to fight for here," Serenity said, turning to face her daughters again. "The Moon Kingdom will be destroyed. But its spirit will be preserved in Elysian – which is why your sister is there. And you have to go to her, and help her. You have to make sure that Erebus and Elysian _aren't_ partnered anymore – that Elysian's beautiful magic isn't lost to Erebus's darkness."

"How are we supposed to do that?"

"Remember those scrolls from my story?" Serenity walked over to her locked armoire, took a key from a fold in her dress, and unlocked it. "When Eros first told me what they did, I tried to destroy them, silly me. Of course they couldn't be destroyed. So I locked them away in here, and nearly forgot about them." She took them out and handed them to the girls. "Diana, this is yours, and Trivia, here's yours."

The girls began to unroll them, but Serenity shook her head. "You can't read them here," she said. "This is the next place they'll come. You can't be seen by Erebus's forces – or Elysian's, at this point. Go on; lock yourselves somewhere they'll never come, read them quickly, and then go on about your business."

Diana was the first to nod. Trivia looked to her, then nodded as well. They started on their way out, then turned when they realized their mother wasn't following them out of the room.

"Mother," Trivia said, "what are you doing still in here?"

Serenity's eyes filled with tears, but she shooed her daughters out. "It's not my place to leave," she said. "I won't leave this palace tonight."

"Mother!"

"No, Diana," Serenity said, shaking her head. "Even if I tried, I won't. Go on now. Leave me."

The girls hesitated, then Trivia crossed to her mother, and hugged her tightly. Diana followed her over, and squeezed her mother tight.

But Trivia released her.

"Trivia, you can't possibly—"

"Diana," Trivia said, "let's go."

Diana sighed, looked at her mother with tearful eyes, and followed her sister out of her mother's bedchamber.

* * *

"Serenity, did Beryl give you another task to complete?"

"No." Serenity turned to face Minako, who was being lifted on Helios's back as they floated out of the hole to the Underworld. They alighted, and Minako slipped from his back.

"Why not?"

"I have no idea. It's really odd." Serenity cocked her head to the side. "She seemed in a hurry to try to get back to wherever she lives at, too. Maybe she feels as if she doesn't need to bother me anymore..." Serenity's eyes went dreamy. "Maybe she will let me go home to Endymion now! Although he might not even want to take me back now..." Serenity lowered her eyes.

_That's not true at all, my lo — er, Queen Serenity_, Helios said, stepping closer in his Pegasus form. He began the detransformation into his human form, talking all the while. _The King is still just as in love with you as the day you arrived in the palace._

Serenity turned to face Helios. "Really?"

"Really," the human Helios said with a smile. "When he was delirious, you were all he could think of. And he refuses to even touch Beryl."

"Why would he?" Minako held her chin, thinking. "Do you remember what Beryl first said to you when you first met up with her?"

"Somewhat," Serenity said. "I remember the first. She called me Queen Serenity, matriarch of Elysian, and then she told me that she thought she would be the first to hold that title."

"Beryl's been hot for King Endymion since before their fathers died, a long time ago...I think we were still teenagers," Helios said. "That's why she's taken to terrorizing him. As a matter of fact, you've got her to thank for even being here. Endymion was sent to kill you, because she was jealous of you and wanted revenge on your family. But he fell in love with you and brought you home instead."

Minako raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious?"

"Yes."

"So where is Endymion at now? At Beryl's home?"

"No. She's moved camp to Elysian. When Endymion...got hurt, his magical protection against the palace was broken. Her servants found the palace and she decided to live there, to invade Endymion's personal space. She..." Helios turned away. "She lives in his bedroom."

"What the—" Minako said.

"Well, she takes the bed. He wants to leave, but she won't let him sleep anywhere else. So he usually sleeps in a chair, or on the floor."

Minako started laughing. "Good for him!"

"And he's still sick. She won't let anyone tend to him. I snatch moments when possible, but I've been confined to the sanctuary. It's like being in prison. They even check whoever comes through for weapons to sneak me," Helios said sullenly. "It was—"

Suddenly, he stopped.

"It was what?"

Helios just shook his head. "I just realized what I said. Beryl doesn't let Endymion leave the bedroom at night; she forces him to sleep in the same room as her. And she has these black wristbands on her to control him and keep him in the room at night. He can't leave it," Helios said.

"What does that mean to us?"

"I went to sleep after Beryl retired, which means Endymion was already confined," Helios continued, obviously working things out to himself. "When I was unbound, Beryl definitely hadn't woken up yet. It was late at night, and she would've come running if she realized Endymion was out the room. It couldn't have been the maids, they don't let anyone else in my room besides Endymion and Beryl's servants. Although the guards were knocked out."

"Helios!" Serenity placed her hands on the priest's shoulders and shook them. "What are you talking about?!"

Helios softly kissed the queen on her cheek, then drew back, blushing.

"Helios!"

"Sorry! I couldn't help it!"

* * *

"Did you finish?"  
  
"Yes, I finished."

Diana rolled up her scroll and tossed it behind her. It disappeared, but it was no matter. She didn't need it anymore.

All she needed was the small, dark blue wand she held in her hand.

"That was..."

"Intriguing."

"Wild, was more my choice of words," said Diana. "But the letters said – we had to find that crystal. Mother didn't have it around her neck, did she?"

"No," Trivia said. "She said she hid it somewhere else in another locked armoire in the palace."

"But she forgot to mention where." Diana shook her head. "Are you ready to try these things?"

Trivia smiled and stared at her aqua-blue wand, encrusted with a crystal in the same color. It looked like aquamarine to her, and that would be most fitting, given the powers she was said to have.

"I'm ready. But you go first."

"No problem."

Diana thrust the henshin wand into the air.

"Uranus Crystal Power, make up!"

"Neptune Crystal Power, make up!"

* * *

Minako brought her hand to her chin and looked to the sky moving above her. There was something she was trying to remember – it had to do with Serenity and Helios – but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.

It was hard to remember anything at that point, though. She and Serenity were seated on the pegasus-Helios' back, soaring through the air, watching clouds and blue sky fly by. The day was perfect for flying; of course, Helios wasn't flying quite as fast as he did with just Serenity on his back, but Minako was awed that he could even fly with _both_ of them back there. He contended that pegasi were very strong animals. Minako only hoped that he wasn't struggling.

Serenity's head was bent over the side of the pegasus, her sapphire blue eyes sweeping the ground. They were searching, of course, and Minako probably should've been aiding Serenity and Helios in the search. But the truth was, she was somewhat afraid of being high in the air, soaring over mountain and glen. And Serenity knew what they were looking for, had seen it, touched it.

No, it was better for Minako to go over what had passed.

Tereisias. Unlike the younger oracles, or the lesser ones, he spoke in shadows, forcing his listeners to listen carefully and decipher messages. Minako had been spending the better part of the pegasus ride just decoding what the old blind prophet had said.

The story had been simple enough, although elongated with Tereisias's colorful language. Tereisias confirmed Minako's story about Beryl exchanging her soul for glorious power. How Beryl had risen up, the power of the souls of the Underworld behind her, to conquer the Earth. And how the magical land of Elysian, Endymion's home, was the only power standing against her. How Beryl had commissioned Endymion to kill Serenity in return for protection and he, smitten with the young princess, had taken her as his wife.

But there was more to Endymion's deal and Serenity's marriage than simple jealousy and power exchanges, the prophet said. The circumstances, the events arranging themselves were only in conjunction with a prophecy from long ago, when a crystal was born. Serenity was one chosen, chosen to gather the powers that would emancipate the world from the dark hold of the Underworld. Chosen to find the crystal. This crystal was connected to four jewels, four powers that would bring the crystal's power forth, and together the rainbow of gems would conquer the darkness that threatened the Earth.

Minako cleared her throat. "So Beryl is this great darkness that will take over the Earth if we don't defeat her?"

Tereisias actually chuckled, shaking his head slowly. "Child. Beryl is only a link in the chain – simply a key to the gates of the darkness. She is a tool. The gods – especially the dark one Hades – have allowed her to believe that she has more power than she really has. She is powerful, no doubt. But she is controllable. Hades' power has not come without price. And that is her weakness.

"The power in the jewels," he continued. "do not have such a weakness. Their greatest asset, though they may be not as powerful individually as the dark power, is that they are free. There is no price to their power. There is no selfishness in their power...the jewels pulsate with freedom, as the gods' gifts. It is your quest to find these jewels, to touch their power and bring them out."

At that Serenity had sat up, her eyes wide and sparkling with knowledge.

"Come on, Minako!" she had said, grabbing Minako's arm and pulling her to her feet. "I know what he's talking about! But we must hurry, before they disappear!

Minako had followed. She had wanted to ask Tereisias more, to find out more. She wondered if Serenity was acting too hastily. There had to be more.

But one look at the smile on Tereisias's face and the hope in his eyes dispelled her questions. She looked at Serenity, at the faith in her blue eyes, and latched onto that, allowing her heart to follow the faith that Serenity had.

Now she lightly tapped her traveling partner on the shoulder. "Serenity...how did you understand what Tereisias said? I have been listening to him for years and it still takes me hours to figure out his riddles."

Serenity smiled. "Tereisias said something about jewels pulsating with freedom, with the gods' gifts. When I came to find you, the Time Guardian told me to close my eyes and follow my heart...and when I did, I felt your power _pulsating_ inside my heart."

Minako's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Really! Then I thought about it. Your power had felt so similar to others I felt. Then he said what he said about the gods' gifts. And I remembered! Along the way I met three other girls who said they all had powers gifted them from the gods – Mercury, Mars, Jupiter. And you. I was told to get a beauty charm for Beryl from you. Then I thought you must've been gifted with powers from Venus, right?"

Minako nodded. _Still waters run deep_, she thought.

"So I figured that the four of you together must be the power that Tereisias is saying that I have to find," she finished, turning back to her searching. "So now we have to find them so that we can fight the darkness."


	27. The Crystals

**

* * *

The Crystals**

"We're flying close to the Styx now, dear queen," Helios said to Serenity. "Tell me if—"

"Shh," Minako said. Serenity's eyes were closed, and she was humming softly to herself. Helios slowed his flight and cocked an eyebrow at Minako.

"This is how she finds us."

Serenity's body begin to take on a faint greenish glow.

"Oh my—"

"She's close by," Serenity said, not opening her eyes. "She's still wandering. Searching."

Helios turned away from the queen and landed on the ground. The minute he did so, Serenity dismounted and began to wander away from him, eyes still closed.

"My queen! I don't think it's safe for you to wander around with your eyes closed so close to water..."

Serenity was ignoring him, walking straight for the Styx. Minako brought her fingers to her lips, worried.

However, before the young queen plunged off the side of the river into the water, a pair of hands caught her around the middle, stopping her stride.

She opened her eyes and stared into forest green eyes.

"We meet again, Queen Serenity," the taller girl said, smiling brightly.

"Li...ta?" Serenity said. Lita nodded. "Oh my goodness...it really worked!"

"What worked?" Lita cocked an eyebrow.

"Lita, I've got to tell you..." Serenity smiled at her old acquaintance, then gestured to Minako and Helios. "Remember what I told you, about the evil queen who kidnapped my husband and was making me do the task that I was required to do, that you helped me with?"

"Yes, I remember that."

"It was bigger than what I thought."

* * *

"Queen Serenity. So we finally meet."

Serenity whirled to the cold voice that addressed her from the doorway. Her crystalline blue eyes widened as she regarded the figure that darkened her door. She detected a metallic flash in the figure's right hand and deduced it was a dagger.

Meant for her.

Serenity forced her body to relax itself, and she turned a serene eye on her assassin. "And you. Queen Beryl."

Beryl looked startled – she had not expected the Moon Queen to know who she was. She recouped quickly, and threw Queen Serenity another cold, hard stare.

"Your husband is already dead."

A pang of hurt washed over Serenity's heart, but she fought it down and continued to look at Beryl. "I knew he would be."

"Endymion killed him." A smile curled across Beryl's lips. "He finally avenged his father's death.

"And oh," she continued, "but you should've seen the look of pure glee on his face when he drove his sword through the Moon King's cold heart. He had been waiting a long time to complete that." _And I was the one who guided him to his duty_, Beryl thought. _He'll love me forever for that._

"It didn't have to be this way," Queen Serenity said, nervously. "None of it did."

"Yes, but that's not my fault, is it?"

"You don't even know what went on between Elysian and the Moon." Queen Serenity took a step closer to the younger queen, more resolute in her actions. "We were allies. You are simply an invader on a foreign treaty. Elysian and the Moon _will_ become allies again. They are inherently linked. Serenity and Endymion are linked for eternity."

Beryl's grip on her dagger became tighter as she heard the queen's words, and she took a step closer to her. "Endymion belongs to me."

The Moon Queen smirked. "You allow yourself to believe that. But nothing belongs to a slave. Especially not a slave of darkness."

Beryl's eyes darkened and narrowed. Hatred burned in her heart for the queen and her words, and she advanced on her quickly, raising the dagger above her head.

For a moment she hovered in shock. The Moon Queen was standing, resolutely, not having flinched a bit at Beryl's advance upon her. She was merely staring, her blue eyes wide but cold, acceptance and resignation in them.

Beryl didn't want acceptance. She wanted anger. She wanted hatred. She wanted fear.

She wanted pain.

So she plunged the dagger into the Moon Queen's heart.

The queen's body jerked, and a bloom of red blood stained her pure white gown. She looked down at the dagger, stuck to the hilt in her heart, and then up at Beryl, whose hazel eyes were glittering in satisfaction.

But instead of the expression of choked pain Beryl expected, Queen Serenity lifted the corners of her lips in a serene smile.

"You will not win this war," she said in a choked voice, looking Beryl in the eye. "A mere slave does not triumph over a queen."

Beryl's eyes burned with fury, and even the dull thud of the dead queen's body hitting the floor could not satisfy her hatred.

* * *

"So, you see, we have come to gather the three of you so the five of us can be strong and triumph over Beryl's dark empire – and the darkness!"

Ami cocked her head to the side as she listened to Serenity's story, then remained silent a while as she spoke. "Yes...but do you really believe this all? It seems hard to believe...I am just a simple country girl..."

"As I am," Lita added. Rei nodded silently. Over much time, Serenity had managed to round up the other three young ladies, and told them each about their quest to find the crystals of power and defeat Beryl's evil empire.

"Yes..." Minako looked desperately towards Serenity.

"No! Ami, you are the Princess of Thessaly," Serenity said, causing the blue-haired girl to blush. "And Rei, you are the very creation of the goddess Venus! Lita...your family was one of the most powerful in Babylon. And Minako, you are the wife of a powerful Thracian general! Aren't you tired of Beryl's reign of terror against your home kingdoms?" Serenity asked pointedly, staring at each girl. "She has your kingdoms in fear, able to strike at any moment! And..." She smiled warmly, remembering the weakness in each girls' heart. "She is the servant of the god Hades, and wields his power. If we defeat her, we may be able to reclaim your loves' souls from Hades' realm!"

The girls all gasped, and exchanged glances.

"So, ladies...will you join our quest?"

The girls turned to regard Helios – who had resumed his human form – and one by one, they nodded and smiled.

"Great!" Serenity cried exuberantly. "Now, on to Golden Palace!"

"Golden Palace?" Helios asked, perturbed. "We can't go there! Beryl and her troops have overtaken the palace. It will be impossible to get inside. Our regular guards are not at the palace's doors – Beryl has replaced them with her own!"

"But we must go to the palace!" Serenity exclaimed. "That's where the crystals are!"

"The what?"

"The crystals that you will use to unlock your powers," said Serenity.

"But..." Minako scrunched her brow, trying to remember all Tereisias had said. "How do you know they are in the Golden Palace? Tereisias never said anything about where they were located..."

"Minako, silly," Serenity said. "Tereisias said they were 'sleeping' in a 'golden haven'."

"And how do you that he meant the Golden Palace?" Ami asked. She had heard about the prophet Teresias, and knew that his prophecies were often elaborate riddles.

"Sleeping in a golden haven?" Serenity smiled. "Elysian is the Land of Dreams, isn't it? One dreams while he sleeps. And the Golden Palace is the only golden haven in Elysian!"

Helios marveled.

"Her heart is pure," Rei said quietly. "That is why she is able to understand Tereisias' words. Her purity transcends them."

"Let us go," Helios said. "It will take much work to breach the guard at the palace, and to retrieve the crystals, especially since we don't know where they are. We must work quickly, otherwise, who knows what will happen."

* * *

The small entourage stared up at the huge Golden Palace. The four young ladies Serenity had recently met were wide-eyed, but Serenity only held a small, wistful smile on her face.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned to face Helios. He was smiling lovingly at her. "Do not berate yourself, my lov—er..." He blushed and shook his head. "But it is not your fault. It would've happened anyway...by decree of the gods. And of destiny."

Serenity nodded.

"It's so beautiful," Minako breathed, staring up at the huge palace.

"The stuff of dreams," Rei concurred.

"I've only heard stories of it," Ami said.

"Imagine...being queen of that!" Lita turned to Serenity with a friendly smile on her face. "You are certainly lucky, my queen!"

Serenity blushed and smiled, nodding to Lita. "You all must go inside," she said, "and find the palace servants. Surely, they must know something about the crystals! Quickly!"

"You can't come inside? We don't know the layout," Ami said.

Beryl's guards would kill Queen Serenity on sight, Helios said, his "voice" pained at the thought. I cannot allow that.

He nuzzled the queen's cheek, and she blushed, gently pushing him away. He looked hurt – if it were possible for a pegasus to look so – and flexed his wings. I will create a distraction. As soon as I do so, you ladies must hurry in the palace while the guard is distracted.

He rose above the grove they were hiding in, and the four young women rushed forward, Serenity gazing after them hopefully.

* * *

"Look! Up there!"

"Tis a pegasus!" The guard at the door smiled, admiring the pegausus beating his wings in the sunlight.

The other guard bonked him on the head with his bow. "Tis not just any pegasus, fool," he said, "tis the priest Helios in pegasus form!"

The first guard looked at his colleague with wide eyes. "Well, let's shoot him down!" he said.

The other guard nodded, and took aim with his arrow.

Helios fluttered away, and the guards took off after him.

When they were a sufficient distance away, the four young ladies rushed to the door of the palace. Minako opened her mouth, prepared to ask how they would enter, but Lita twirled a swift kick, and the doors opened before her.

The ladies rushed inside, and Ami had the good sense to close the doors behind them, so the guards would not suspect.

"Now what?" Minako said. She tried to whisper, but her voice echoed from the walls, causing the four ladies to wince. A flurry of footsteps was heard in the hall, and they froze.

The footsteps entered the foyer, but the young ladies could not see anything. Then, suddenly, the shapes of four other maidens took shape, girls a bit younger than the women themselves, dressed in yellow, red, green, and blue.

"Queen Serenity! You've returned!" the girl in blue shouted, advancing towards the blonde.

The one in red clamped a hand over her friend's mouth, silencing her. "Quiet, Pallas! Do you want to alert the entire palace!"

"I am not Serenity," Minako said, but she stepped in front of the other three ladies. "I am Minako, and these are...Rei, Ami, and Lita. We are here seeking the four sacred crystals of legend."

The four girls simultaneously whipped their heads towards each other, exchanging glances.

"I _told _you they would come!"

"Good thing, too! And just in time!"

"Quickly, girls, do you remember where we've hid them!"

"Of course, of course! We've been waiting forever!"

The one in yellow waved her hands to quiet her sisters, then turned to the young women before her. "Forgive us," she said, speaking quickly. "We have waited a very long time for someone to come hunting the crystals! It has been prophesied. When Queen Serenity came, we thought..." She shook her head.

"Serenity is with us," Rei offered.

"Well, that explains it!" Ceres said, clapping her hands. "Come, hurry! Minako, you come with me; and — Ami is it? — you go with Pallas. Rei, follow Vesta, and Lita, you go with Juno. Quickly girls, before Beryl's servants come!"

* * *

"So, would you explain to me how you came to be in possession of the crystals?" Ami asked, walking alongside Pallas. They were trekking through a dark corridor that seemed very unused.

"They were given to us a long, long time ago, by Psyche, the former queen of Elysian." Pallas said, bouncing ahead of Ami, occasionally darting out of the shadows to look for followers. "We were to safeguard them, protect them until someone came after them! We were each given one."

She smiled and turned to Ami. "Here!" And instead of continuing down the hallway, she pushed a door in the wall open, and entered the room, pulling Ami after her.

"What—" Ami entered the room and looked around. It appeared to be a child's playroom. There were several trunks of toys stored against the walls, with several larger toys – a rocking horse, chariot, the like – scattered around the room. "Where are we?"

"This is King Endymion's old playroom, from when he was a child," Pallas said, giggling. "I knew no one would look in here!" And she raced towards the toy box, rummaging around in it.

"What _are_ you doing?"

"Finding it!" Pallas's head was completely submerged in the toy box; it stayed that way for a few minutes, and then she pulled it up. A blue light filled the dark room as she did, steadily growing brighter and brighter the farther she went, until finally she emerged, a small blue crystal hovering over her hand, emitting a bright blue light."

"Ami, servant of Mercury, I give you the Sapphire Crystal!"

* * *

"Oh, my!" Minako exclaimed, fingering the yellow silk dress that hung over her head. "How lovely."

"Aren't they beautiful? This is one of my favorite rooms in the house," Ceres said absently, throwing open the doors of a closet. "It was Queen Psyche's dressing chamber. I used to be her personal maidservant, dressing her and bathing her. It was so wonderful." Ceres sighed. "Queen Psyche-sama was a beautiful woman."

"What happened to her?"

Ceres looked down, into the closet space. "She was killed," she said sadly. "In an attack Erebus executed against Elysian."

Minako was sorry she had asked.

"That's why you must defeat Beryl," Ceres said, determination ringing in her voice. "Anyway, I used to come here all the time when Queen Psyche was alive. And so I hid the crystal in here." She bent over into the closet, and a few noises could be heard. "After all...who'd think to look in an old pair of shoes for a gem?"

Ceres pulled herself out of the closet, and hovering over her palm was a round crystal, emitting a bright yellow light. "The Topaz Crystal, servant of Venus."

* * *

"Uck, it smells horrible in here."

"It _is_ a stable, m'lady," Juno said pointedly, and Lita had to admit that she was right.

"Why did you hide the crystal in _here_? Wouldn't you be afraid that someone would find it?"

"No," Juno answered. "The most obvious places make the best hiding places."

She opened a stall occupied by a mare, and gently nudged the beast out of the way. Then she dug in the hay like a madwoman.

Lita knew the moment she struck gold, for the entire stable was illuminated with a green light.

"Ah, here!" She picked it up and stood, emerging from the stall. "Servant of Jupiter, the Emerald Crystal!"

* * *

"No one is allowed in the inner sanctum but the priest Helios and his prince, Endymion," Vesta said in a low voice, leading Rei briskly down the hallways of the palace. "But I tried to get as close as possible."

"Your meaning?"

Vesta waved Rei into the temple area of the palace, carefully closing the door behind her.

"Well, I was always assigned to clean the only public area of the temple, not the sanctuary of course, but the area where we servants are allowed to worship," Vesta said. "And I figured it would be the perfect place to hide a crystal! Only devout servants of the gods attend here, and the dark-hearted are rarely so."

She knelt before the altar, and Rei raised an eyebrow. Was she about to offer a prayer at this dire moment?

But no – Vesta reached below the altar, into a golden urn. "I told everyone that the ashes of the first Elysian queen were stored in this urn," she giggled.

What she pulled out was not ashes, but a red stone, throwing its crimson light all around the room.

"The Ruby Crystal, servant of Mars."


	28. The Reunion

**

* * *

The Reunion**

The four young ladies, accompanied by their whimsical crystal keepers, wandered back in the foyer of the palace.

"Remember," said Ceres, folding her arms, "you have to hold the crystal aloft, and call the name of your guardian god, then crystal power, make up! That should begin your transformation into your alternate forms."

"Don't be alarmed if your appearances change, even drastically!" Vesta said, wagging a finger. "At the time you assume total servitude to your guardian deities, you will assume an appearance pleasing to a warrior of that deity."

The girls nodded solemnly.

"Now, hurry along!" said Pallas, shooing at the girls. "Before someone sees—"

"There!" The eight women whirled. A young palace guard of Beryl's was standing behind them, trembling. Seeing the four brightly-colored, glowing crystals was quite a fear-inspiring sight. So the guard did the only thing of which he could think.

"Guards!"

Rei cursed fiercely, and the girls rushed at the palace doors as the four maidens of Elysian vanished into thin air. A battalion of guards arrived in the foyer in seconds, yelling at the women.

"Get them! They're getting away!"

"Is that Princess Serenity?"

"By gods, it _is_ her!"  
  
"What do they have?"

"I'm not sure, but I know Beryl will want it!"

A guard lurched forward to grab one of the women, aiming at the first one he saw. Unfortunately, he chose Lita.

Crying out, she bucked backwards and knocked him off, then kicked the man in the gut, causing him to fall backwards.

That caused the rest of the guard to be enraged, and they flew at the girls, coming from left and right.

The four ladies looked at each other and exchanged glances. Minako gazed down at the crystal floating above her hand.

Almost as an afterthought, she thrust the crystal in the direction of a battalion of guards that was gathered before her, focusing her mind on the serene vision of her guardian goddess, Venus.

A bolt of golden power emitted from the Topaz Crystal and went flying towards the guards charging at her. The golden power struck headway into most of them, knocking them to the jeweled floor in a might display of power.

The other guards backed away.

Minako and the other three ladies turned their attention to the crystals resting above their hands, glowing in mighty power.

Then Minako fainted.

"Come on!" Lita said, bounding towards the blonde-haired girl and grabbing her side. Ami went to Minako's other side and aided Lita in supporting her. "Let's get out of here before they decide to attack again!"

As the guard considered doing just that, the four ladies dashed out of the front doors of the palace, running as fast as they could.

* * *

Sailor Uranus kicked, her boot catching the black-suited soldier in the neck. A swift punch backwards disabled the soldier about to jump on her back.

Sailor Neptune was faring well also, doing a swift roundhouse kick that knocked out four of her opponents. A quick chop defeated one that tried to rise again.

They stopped, turned to one another, and panted.

"These are hardly outfits married women should wear," Neptune remarked.

The comment made Uranus burst into laughter. "I doubt Somnus and Orcas will mind much," she said. Then her face grew solemn. "Oh, Neptune...what if they're..."

"Don't think on it," Neptune warned, shaking her head. "This is a horrendous battle. But Somnus and Orcas are strong."

Sailor Uranus nodded, but she wasn't so sure.

The girls continued to run through the palace. They were still looking for the Silver Crystal, but the task was getting harder as the Erebese troops continued to advance through the palace, gaining new levels and bringing the palace down with their vile magic. Although fending off the soldiers was fairly easy, the task was tedious and time-consuming.

"In here," Uranus directed, pointing to a room in the hall. They had been searching random rooms for hours, without much luck. No Silver Crystal.

Sailor Neptune followed her partner into the room and shut the door behind her, panting frantically. The two of them rested for a few seconds, and looked around the room.

Neither one of them had ever seen this room of the palace before – which wasn't odd, because there were hundreds of rooms in the grand palace, only a few of which they deemed to visit. The floor was a glassy marble, and Neptune could see the reflection of her angular face when looking down at it. The room was rather large, and circular – and completely empty.

"Why keep an empty room?" Uranus asked, her voice echoing off the walls.

Neptune shrugged delicately. Her aqua eyes scanned the room, until they fell onto something.

The only fixture in the room – a marble pillar. From the looks of it, the pillar would come to about Uranus's waist. It was simple as pillars went, but something in her told her it was more than what it seemed.

"Look," she said to her sister, pointing to the pillar. "Odd. It's not in the middle of the floor, but off to the side. Why? It's the only fixture in the room."

Uranus nodded, and boldly strode over to where the pillar stood, off to one side. She stood looking down into it.

"Neptune, come here! Look!"

Sailor Neptune stood and walked to where Uranus was standing, staring into the pillar.

She gasped.

Spinning serenely under the glass top of the pillar was a silver-colored crystal.

"It _has_ to be the Silver Crystal," she breathed. "See how it emits its own light? And it's _floating_. Regular gemstones don't do that..."

Uranus nodded. "How do we get it out?"

"Mother said that we had the power, being born of the one who was last in possession of the crystal...perhaps we should try and focus our powers together, see what will happen?"

Uranus shrugged. "I was going to suggest we break the glass...but your idea sounds a lot less painful. And a lot more likely to work."

Neptune chuckled, then extened her hand over the pillar. Uranus did the same, touching their palms. They closed their eyes and focused on their guardians, Neptune of the seas, Uranus of the heavens.

A bright light exploded from both of their tiaras, and they disappeared, the signs of their guardian gods shining on their foreheads in their place. A shattering noise was heard, and when Neptune decided to peek, she saw it was the Silver Crystal, breaking its protective covering and raising from the pillar it was encased in. She and Uranus brought her hands further apart, and the crystal raised between them, spinning.

"Wow..."

"Let's get it," Uranus said. She attempted to scoop the crystal into her hands, but it followed the arc of her arm and was 'guided' by her body to rest between her and Neptune.

She raised an eyebrow. "Think it's going to follow us?"

Neptune giggled. "Let's hope."

The sisters took off, bounding towards the entrance of the palace.

* * *

"Ami, Rei, Lita, Minako!"

Serenity smiled brightly when the girls flew into the grove, out of breath and tired from running. Her smiled faltered a little when she realized that Minako was leaning on Ami, breathing much harder than the other girls, appearing winded. "What happened to Minako?"

"She let off this awesome burst of power–!" Lita's excitement seemed to exhaust her, and she pointed to Minako. "The guards attacked us in the foyer. I was prepared to fight them physically, but Minako just let loose a blast with that crystal of hers!"

"It would seem that these crystals lend immense raw powers to us," Ami said.

"As well as follow us around," Rei mused. Although the girls' hands had been otherwise occupied, the crystals had hovered over their shoulders, 'running' with them and so forth.

"We have to transform..." Minako choked and coughed; she seemed to be coming around. "We have to use their power to transform into the servants of the deities. Perhaps the powers won't tax us so..."

Serenity nodded. "But let's get away from the palace. I don't want the guards to come out and see you guys in a vulnerable moment. Besides, we have to meet Helios a ways away! The guards chased him until they got tired, but if he flies back over here, they're gonna spot him again."

The girls agreed and followed Serenity out of the grove, through a forest. Serenity paused when they were in the thick of the forest, and turned expectantly to the girls. "The trees should hide Helios as best as possible when he lands, and should hide any displays of power you might show..." She smiled. "Go on."

Ami was suddenly struck with a revelation. "What about you, Queen Serenity? Don't you have any powers of your own?"

Serenity shook her head. "It doesn't seem that way," she answered. "From what I understood, it was only my duty to round up you four, so you could fight Beryl. I don't think I was expected to fight alongside you..."

Rei shook her head. "Somehow, I feel that you may be wrong, my queen."

Serenity smiled, but threw up her hands. "You may be right, but I don't have anything to transform myself with," she said. "Hurry, you all do so, so that we can advance on Beryl! Who knows what she's plotting now..."

Helios fluttered behind Serenity and quickly initiated his own transformation to his human form. Took me a half hour to outrun those guards, he grumbled.

The girls giggled, then turned to each other solemnly.

"Well?" Minako said, staring at the Topaz Crystal hovering over her shoulder. The crystals seemed to almost be entities unto themselves. The Ruby Crystal had taken up residence before Rei's bosom, and Ami's Sapphire Crystal was hovering next to her head. Lita's Emerald Crystal was hovering over her head, like a halo. "Are you ready to try this out?" She seemed to be talking to the crystal as much as her three friends.

The girls nodded, and the crystals glowed in response, all four floating directly in front of their owners.

Ami shook her head in wonderment, then brought her dainty hands around the Sapphire Crystal, lifting it over her head. "Mercury Crystal Power, make up!

"Mars Crystal Power, make up!"

"Jupiter Crystal Power, make up!"

"Venus Crystal Power, make up!"

Serenity and Helios watched in wonderment as flashes of bright light and visions danced before their eyes in a dazzling array. The girls appeared as goddesses for moments in between, with the fury and power of their deities fused within them.

Then, the light receded, and they stood before their princess and her priest.

Each was garbed in a short skirt, the same color as her crystal, with bows in a contrasting color. The part that distinguished the girls as what they were, the sailor collar, matched their skirts in color. Each was decorated with various jewellery and trinkets, and each held a new weapon in their hands. Mercury held a blue harp; Mars, a bow with a quiver of arrows; Jupiter, a golden rod; and Venus, a chain of hearts.

Helios smiled. "Serenity...the girls have become the Sailor Soldiers of legend."

* * *

The door of the battered transport fell open, and Sailor Uranus fell out, choking up a gout of blood as she fell to the ground. Her legs were badly scratched and scarred, pieces of her sailor uniform torn away. Her body was racked with coughs as she lay on the soft green ground before her.

A few moments later, Sailor Neptune came stumbling after her, preceded by the Silver Crystal, glowing between the two. One of her eyes was blue and readily swelling shut, and she, too, had her share of battle scars. She was crying softly, her face buried in her gloved hands.

As the girls had emerged from the palace, they had not been greeted by a pretty sight. The Moon Kingdom was in shambles, the lower levels of the palace becoming completely demolished by the opposing forces. They had to fight several forces, at the same time dodging pillars that collapsed, sometimes getting trapped under one. Neptune fell through a glass window and had pieces of glass stuck in her leg, which she picked out, eyes staring blankly as her sister held off the offending enemies.

As they passed the room in which their mother had spent her final moments, Neptune had advanced towards it, but Uranus had pulled her away, shaking her head.

But nothing prevented them from seeing their dead father, splayed out on the second-floor balcony of his once-grand ballroom. He lay in a pool of blood, his eyes open but unseeing, his head partially cracked open and a wicked-looking dagger sticking out of his chest. His body was partially charred, suggesting that some of the meaner forces had burned it in glee.

Neptune had burst into tears on the spot, and Uranus had taken to a fit of vomiting.

They stumbled out of the palace, desperately trying to find a way off of the Moon. The kingdom was crumbling around them. No Lunar soldiers stood alive. The golden-suited Elysian forces were celebrating their triumph over their hated, the Moon.

But the cold-hearted Erebese were not content to see the Lunar forces dead, the king fallen. Using their black magic, they were slowly destroying the palace, causing it to fall in pieces. Pillars fell, verandas collapsed, and Uranus had to guide her sister out of the way of a crushed statue that came crashing their way.

Neptune was distracted in her grief, but Uranus had surveyed the area. In the midst of the Elysian's forces, a man stood proudly, dressed regally, gazing at the palace. His jet-black hair whipped in the wind; his cold, dark blue eyes focused on the palace. Slowly, over his face, his lips curved into a wicked smile.

A flicker of recognition flashed in Uranus's brain...this was the man, one of the few men, who had danced with her at her wedding many months ago. But he was different then. His _look_...his eyes. Once those eyes had been bright blue, the same colors as the oceans below. But now they were dark, like the depths of midnight.

Neptune had tugged on her sister's arm, and the two of them wandered away before any of the force could see them, trying to find a ship to fly off the planet with. They had walked for miles before coming to an old spaceport, used for the infrequent flights from Earth to Moon and back, and found a battered old transport. Jumping in, Uranus had taken a crash course in flying it around the sky before they finally rocketed out of the atmosphere and had a very unpleasant ride to the Earth.

They were finally here, in the middle of a grassy green meadow, but Uranus was too exhausted to go on – having held her sorrow in until it was safe to let it out – and Neptune was drained from the sights she had seen.

"Oh...god..." Neptune sobbed into her hands, her wails become loud. Her tiara flickered, then went dead; her clothes returned to the dress she had been wearing before she transformed. She sat hard into the grass, crying to herself. "I can't...I can't...there's no way I can..."

Diana pushed herself up onto her hands and knees, panting, and realized that she, too, was wearing her regular clothes. She shook her head, then retracted to sit on her knees. "We have to get this crystal to Serenity."

Trivia lifted her head from her hands. "Oh dear lords," she said. "Serenity...she doesn't know. She didn't see..."

"No." Diana's voice was bitter. "She was protected. Once again."

Trivia shook her head, then placed a hand on her sister's arm. "Don't think like that," she said, wiping her tears with her other hand. "She has to be. Her heart must remain pure...so she can use the crystal."

Diana nodded, then looked down at her legs. Where bleeding cuts had once been, were now red scars staring at her.

She looked at the crystal.

"It's healing us," she said. "That's why we...detransformed, I suppose."

Trivia nodded and stared at the crystal again. "We should retransform ourselves, then, and get to Serenity."

"How will we find her?"

Trivia shrugged. "I suppose...the crystal will lead us."

* * *

Serenity smiled, dumbfounded, at her friends. The 'drastic changes' they had spoken of seemed to somewhat take place. Sailor Mars's hair had become completely crimson, and her eyes flashed the same every now and then. Sailor Jupiter's brown hair was now streaked with green. The other two girls were relatively unchanged as far as major features, but all four of them looked determined and ready.

"Are you ready...Sailor Soldiers?" she whispered.

"Yes." It was Sailor Venus who spoke, stepping in front of the other three girls. "We are ready...lead us to Beryl's palace."

"Wait."

The four Sailor Soldiers looked over Serenity's head towards the voice, but Serenity whipped around in shock. Advancing behind her, unsteady but surely, were her two sisters.

"Trivia! Diana!" Serenity ran for them, throwing her arms about one, then the other. "Oh my god...how did you get here? What's going on?" Her face darkened. "Is there...trouble?"

The girls said nothing.

Serenity regarded them again, and realized that they were not exactly as she left them. Instead, they wore outfits much like the four Sailor Soldiers she had recently rounded up, except in aqua and navy.

"How...but you...you are Sailor Soldiers, too?"

Sailors Uranus and Neptune nodded, smiling briefly. "Mother told us. She gave us scrolls that revealed...our powers to us." They spoke nothing of their true parentage.

Serenity's eyes brightened. "How is Mother?"

Neptune looked away, and Uranus stared at her sister gravely. "She's...gone, Serenity."

Serenity's eyes widened. "Gone?"

"Yes." Neptune looked back at her sister. "Everything's gone. Mama, Papa, the palace, the kingdom. Orcas, Somnus. Everything. The Erebese came and wiped everything out."

Serenity bent her head into her hands and wept.

"And the Elysian." Uranus narrowed her eyes, remembering the proud stance of the solitary soldier.

"The Elysian?" Helios stepped forward. "But that cannot be! I am of the Elysian, and although my king has never been quite fond of the Moon Kingdom, he would never participate in an open attack."

"Well, you don't know your king very well," Sailor Neptune said bitterly. "The Elysian were certainly there, celebrating as our palace walls fell."

"Beryl," Serenity said, raising her tear-stained face. "It has to be her. She's taken control of everything, and she must have taken control of the Elysian forces, too! Oh, no..."

"Don't despair, Queen Serenity," said Sailor Mercury, laying a hand on her princess's shoulder. "We're empowered now. And we _will_ avenge your kingdom. Don't worry...we will defeat Beryl and the dark forces."

"And you can help them." Slowly Neptune and Uranus reached behind them and pulled forth a force, thrusting it before them. It was a crystal, silver in color, glittering brightly.

Sailor Venus gasped. "The Great Crystal," she whispered.

"Yes...the Silver Crystal," said Sailor Uranus. She turned her gaze to Serenity. "It is yours."

Sailor Neptune nodded, and gave the crystal a nudge towards its true holder. "Mother said you would know what to do when it came to you."

Serenity watched as the Silver Crystal wobbled towards her, coming to a stop in front of her. It was so much brighter than the other girls' crystals, and heat radiated from it. Tentatively, she rose her hands around it, feeling its power.

Suddenly, she set her face in resolution. Yes, her mother was right. She knew exactly what to do.

With a surge of power, she raised the crystal high above her head, turning her crystal blue eyes to the heavens.

"Moon Crystal Power, make up!"


	29. The Darkness

**The Darkness**

"Queen Beryl. A successful trip, I assume?"

The queen's lips quirked into a semblance of a smile. "It's all gone...we've destroyed everything. Now, nothing stands in our way!"

Her words were exuberant, but the expression on her face was insincere, inconsistent with her exclamation. Something was bothering the Queen of Erebus, but her right-hand guard was too intelligent to ask what it was.

"Our guard has matters to relate to you."

She waved him away. "Go to Endymion...he's at the head of all that now."

"Your majesty, I strenuously suggest that you should listen to this report yourself as well as King Endymion."

Queen Beryl rolled her green-gold eyes and turned to the guard. "What is it now?!" she yelled. "I've just come back from war—"

King Endymion stepped forward, silencing the feral queen with a hand on her shoulder. His eyes were a dark, cloudy shade of midnight blue, and he turned them on to the guard, who cocked his head oddly. "Go on."

"While you were on the Moon, four young women invaded the palace. One of them—" The guard cleared his throat, regarding King Endymion nervously. "One of the appeared to be the Moon Princess, Serenity."

Beryl's mouth formed a genuine smile, albeit small, when she felt Endymion's hand tighten angrily around her shoulder at the mention of Serenity's name. "Where are they? Were they captured?"

"No, your majesty," the guar said. "They...they had in their possession four brightly colored gemstones that glowed with power. Serenity blasted us with a yellow-colored stone, and they all left while we were dazed."

King Endymion shook his head, releasing the tightness from around Beryl's shoulder. "That wasn't Serenity," he said.

Beryl looked at him inquisitively. "How do you know?"

"I just do." He turned his hardened face down at her, and his expression softened. "I'll explain it to you later." He returned to the guard. "Anything else?"

"Yes, your majesty," the guard said. "We found these four aiding them at the scene."

He snapped his fingers, and four other guards walked purposefully into the rotunda, holding the four maidservants Ceres, Vesta, Juno, and Pallas. Their legs and arms were chained together. Their heads were bowed. Juno alone raised her head, and when she saw King Endymion, her eyes brightened.

"King Endymion!" she cried. "Don't let them—"

"Silence!" the king barked. Juno obeyed, more out of shock at the king's harsh tone than his order.

Endymion studied the girls coldly, then turned to Ceres and addressed her. "Were you actually helping these women?"

"Of course," Ceres said softly. "They were..." Her eyes shifted to Beryl. "They were friends of Serenity's."

Endymion cursed and turned away.

"Why is that a bad thing?" Pallas quipped desperately, twisting to try and catch the king's eye. "Don't you want us to help Serenity?"

Endymion turned and stared stonily at the youngest maidservant. "_Help _her?" His face took on a hardened expression once again. "That traitor, that worthless, ungrateful...bitch?"

The girls' eyes widened, and Pallas let out a squeak of protest.

"No, I don't want you to help her, and you shall be punished for it," Endymion said decidedly. "Take them into the lower reaches."

The guards nodded and hauled the girls out, them shrieking in protest.

Vesta looked, betrayed, at King Endymion, and a look of realization dawned upon her.

"Wait!" she shouted. "We have more information for you. We did not realize that Serenity had become our enemy...we can tell you where she and her group are going and what she plans on doing."

The other three girls turned to Vesta in betrayal. "Vesta!" Ceres shrieked disapprovingly.

Endymion eyed Vesta, then turned his sights on the other girls. "And?"

"If you don't take us down...we will tell you." Vesta stood straighter, and smiled. She turned to the other girls and nodded. "Right?"

The other three maids exchanged glances, and, still uncertain, nodded. "Ri...right," they agreed.

Endymion cocked his head in amusement, then regarded the girls. "So...?"

"Give us your word."

Endymion laughed, but his laugh was mirthless, more evil than happy. "Striking a deal, fair Vesta?" he said. "Fine. I give you my word. No harm will come to you."

"They are going to Erebus," Vesta says. "They believe if they tear down Beryl's base, they will have the upper hand against you...and Beryl." The other sisters relaxed as they heard Vesta's distaste for saying Beryl and Endymion's names together, but Endymion didn't catch it. "You can beat them to Erebus if you begin now."

King Endymion looked at the floor. "Erebus, huh?" He turned back to Vesta. "They told you all this?"

"They trusted us."

"So then, Pallas," he said, directing his eyes to the youngest maid, "why would they be going to Erebus?"

Pallas opened her mouth and shut it, and turned her eyes to her sisters for help, but they stared back at her blankly. Finally her eyes shifted to Vesta, who gave her an intense glare.

"They...they want...to...to defeat the darkness?" Pallas said, almost questioningly. Vesta gave her a slight nod, and she continued. "They...are...they...are trying to get back Golden Palace!" She nodded, and smiled. "Yes, now I remember. They know that Queen Beryl has taken control here, and they want to get the palace back..."

"And have Serenity...and...Helios installed here, as king and queen," Ceres added eagerly, catching on. "Weakening Beryl's power at Erebus will help them take over Golden Palace."

King Endymion's eyes flashed in anger at the last, the cold blue fires burning in his eyes. He tightened his fist in frustration.

Beryl turned to regard the king's red face. "We're going there," she decided, that quirky smile crossing her lips again. "We're going to defend Erebus, and get rid of that golden-haired skank and her little friends once and for all." She patted Endymion's arm. "What do you think?"

Endymion nodded.

* * *

"Okay, will anyone explain to me what in the _hell_ just went on?" Juno said, crossing her arms. "Because to me, you all sounded like traitors ready to sell your souls to stay away from the lower reaches!"

"Juno, please," said Vesta, bringing her finger to her lips. "We are in the temple. Lower your voice and keep the profanity."

"Well, Vesta," said Ceres, turning from her prayerful stance in the temple, "what exactly _was_ on your mind? We did give Serenity away..."

"Yeah," Pallas added. "Were you really just trying to stay out of the dungeons?"

Vesta made a face at her youngest sister, then shook her head at her sisters. "You guys are dense...how much did you get out of that, anyway?"

"Nothing," Juno said fiercely.

"I don't know why he asked me," Pallas said, "but I knew you were telling me to make something up fast, before I got us all in trouble!"

"You were trying to get Endymion to Erebus," Ceres said, "that much I got. But why?"

"That was clever, Ceres, telling him that they wanted to install Helios as king," said Vesta.

"Where _is_ Helios?"

"He was trapped in the sanctuary, but I get the feeling he's not there anymore, and that it may have something to do with Endymion's suddenly sour feelings for Queen Serenity," Vesta said. "Didn't you guys get a good look at his eyes?"

The other three sisters exchanged glances, then shook their heads.

"They were so dark...and cloudy," Vesta said, and shivered. "Like some of the Erebese guards. Especially like...like the four men who were in the grey. Don't you recognize them too, just a little bit?"

Pallas and Ceres shook their heads, but Juno looked thoughtful.

"They do look...a little familiar..."

"Yes, but I can't put my finger on why," Vesta said. "But Beryl has them under her dark power, and Endymion's eyes are dark and cloudy like theirs. I think Beryl has Endymion under her control!"

The other three girls gasped. "Oh, no," Pallas said.

"That would explain why he was so ready to put us under," said Juno. "But...how? King Endymion's soul is too strong for Beryl to control."

"Yes...it _was_," Ceres said thoughtfully. "But he's been sick for a long while. That had to have weakened his spirit."

"And," said Vesta, "his loss of love for Queen Serenity."

The other three girls nodded.

"Why doesn't King Endymion love Queen Serenity anymore?" Pallas asked.  
  
"I'm not sure, but I think Beryl tricked him," Vesta said. "So she could weaken his soul and control it. That's what the Erebese specialize in, black magic, death, and control. Energy draining and stuff. I've been studying it in here."

"So now what to do we do?" Ceres asked.

"Well, nothing. That's why we told Endymion where Serenity is going," Vesta answered. "Hopefully he'll get there before her. Serenity can get there, and her friends can use their power to get her through Beryl...somehow...and Serenity can convince him to fall back in love with her! Once he does, Beryl will not be strong enough to control his soul anymore. He'll break free, and hopefully defeat her..."

* * *

The six soldiers and Helios watched in awe as Serenity rose into the air, illuminated by a blindingly bright white light. The light exploded into something so bright and hot they had to turn away and step back...

Finally, it began to recede as Serenity descended...except, she wasn't exactly Serenity anymore. She was dressed in a suit much like the other Soldiers', except her skirt was white, stained with a rainbow at the end. Her collar was the same rainbow color, and the bow seated in her chest was red. At the back of her skirt was a long, ruffled bow in iridescent pastels, shifting colors as the light changed. She wore tall red boots, and her golden hair, still done in the golden comet-tail style, was adorned with feathers and jewels.

Her eyes were still closed, the Mystical Silver Crystal still hovering between her white-gloved hands. She brought it closer to herself. It emitted an elongated light, then solidified into the shape of a pink sceptre with a large heart curved on the top. The Crystal encrusted itself on the top.

Finally, Serenity opened her eyes.

"Sailor Moon," Sailor Uranus whispered.

Sailor Moon smiled and turned to the voice of her sister. "Is that what you'd call me?"

A collective sigh of relief went up from the group, who had been afraid their lovely Serenity would have turned into something different with her transformation.

"To the Dark Kingdom," she said brightly, pointing forward with her new sceptre. "Let's go!"

* * *

The palace at Erebus seemed more like a fortress of war than a home for a royal family. The black obsidian structure stretched up and up, gleaming in the cloudy midday light that the sun cared to cast upon Erebus. No matter what the sun promised, it was freezing cold, and the girls fairly shivered as the trekked closer to the palace. The teleportation they had done had been exhausting, but they were able to make it. Now they stood to try to recoup some power.

"How are we to get inside?" Sailor Mercury queried, turning an eye towards her fellow guardians. "It's like a walled fortress."

"Not to mention the sentries," Sailor Neptune said, and pointed back at the obsidian palace. The girls squinted and were able to make out horrific forms stalking before the palace. There were dozens of them.

"The power of Hades is here," Sailor Mars said, narrowing her eyes. "I can feel it..."

"Beryl has a contract with Hades," Sailor Venus said simply, her hands tightening around her love-me chain. "He gives her power...she gives her body."

The other soldiers shuddered.

"No reason to stand around here and chat," Sailor Uranus said. "Let's advance."

They all nodded, then began to move forward quickly, striving to remain undetected as long as possible.

The first sentry that heard the footsteps was a particularly ugly-looking one, like a giant insect bent over from a humped back. Its eyes widened and turned from its line, charging at the force of colorfully suited fighters.

Sailor Uranus pulled ahead of the girls and broke into a full-out sprint. She raised her hand into the air and slashed it down, pulling a golden lance of power out of the air. She leapt and struck at the fiend.

Her power lance made contact, but not before the sentry screeched a warning to its fellow sentries.

The entire foot patrol turned and let out a deafening screech in unison, causing the soldiers to clap their hands over their ears momentarily. They then charged at the seven soldiers, crying out.

Sailor Venus was the first to react, lashing out her love-me chain and charging it with a blast of golden power.

Then the other girls joined in the slaughter.

The demons were not difficult to defeat, as they were purely flesh with a bit of supercharged dark power fueling them, and so the team slashed through them easily. But the sheer number of sentries caused problems for the Sailor team. They were nearly overwhelming, blocking entrance to the palace.

"You all," Sailor Uranus shouted over the carnage, slashing a sentry through the head with her golden-charged power. "Neptune and I will lead you five to the gates of the palace! Once we cut through these demons, you run inside, quickly!"

"But—" Sailor Jupiter crossed her hands and gathered a lightning blast at her antenna, then shot the ki at a nearby troop of sentries, who fell back. "There are too many for just the two of you to fight!"

"Just do it!" Sailor Neptune screamed, sending a flow of water over a wave of sentries.

The five soldiers exchanged glances. They were uncertain, but Sailor Venus nodded and pointed the way through, forming a sketchy line behind Neptune and Uranus, whipping at the forces with her chain. Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter stood almost side-side-by-side, using the double forces of their water and lightning to strike the demons, and Sailor Mars followed, fighting with her flaming arrows.

Sailor Moon was perhaps the most fearsome of the warriors, although she did not much fighting. The sentries were backing away from her, avoiding the blasts of her power. When a few did get bold, she struck out with surprising force – and a liberal use of _all_ the soldiers' elements. A torrent of water charged with a crackle of lightning sent large waves of sentries to a painful death, while a charge of flame sent through an earthquake toppled yet more. Soon no sentries were challenging her path, and she simply stalked behind Sailor Mars unscathed.

After walk-fighting for nearly an hour, the women were finally near the doors of the darkly shining palace.

"Now!" Uranus yelled.  
  
"But..." Sailor Mars looked at Uranus and Neptune, who were absorbed in their fighting. One of them was surely more powerful than one of the other five, save Sailor Moon, but still...

"We'll clear the way," said Sailor Neptune. She fought her way to press her back against Uranus, grabbing her sister's hands. They faced outwards, staring at the sentries who gathered around them.

Sailor Moon knew what they were going to do.

"Trivia, Diana, no!"

Sailor Neptune, who was facing Sailor Moon, smiled at her. "Don't worry, little sister," she said.

Sailor Uranus looked over her shoulder, regarding her sister. "This is what we were born to do..."

The two closed their eyes, and the area around them shook, a maelstrom of water careening around their feet. They built for a few moments, then released a powerful blast of power, wiping out the field of sentries around them – clearing the way to the door.

"Go!" they cried together, collapsing to the floor.

Sailor Moon was stunned for a few moments, and did not know which of the Senshi it was that grabbed her and dragged her into the dark palace. All she could do was stare helplessly at her sisters, who now lay weak and vulnerable as the dark army of poured over them, their screeches mingling with with the screams of the fallen warriors.


	30. The Ghosts

**

* * *

The Ghosts**

Beryl leaned forward in shock as she regarded the sight in her crystal ball.

"They're inside the palace!" She shook her head violently, her russet waves flying in disarray. "How did they manage to get inside the palace..."

Endymion stepped up to the ball before Beryl's throne in Erebus. Elysian's palace was cozy and quaint compared to Beryl's Erebese fortress-palace. Everything was in smooth black obsidian or grainy black stone, and it was cold. Beryl's throne room glittered in black, dim lights the only way to see anything.

His eyes were still adjusting, so he rubbed them and peered closer to the sight in the view.

"There's only five of them. The guards tracking them said there were seven."

Beryl looked more closely and saw that what he said was true. "So they lost two on the way in," she said. "There are still five left...and they are inside my palace?"

"Should we go and stop them ourselves?" Endymion asked. "Our powers together should do away with them."

"No," Beryl snapped. "We have to protect the Metallia."

"The...what?"

Beryl shook her head, instead of answering him, looking closer at the crystal ball, her eyes almost now pressed into the glass. Her lips curved into a wicked smile. "I recognize these girls..."

"Other than Serenity, of course."

"Of course," Beryl said, her smile not leaving her lips. "Look closer. You must recognize at least one of them..."

Endymion peered closer, then cocked a small smile, his dark eyes confused. "The blue-haired one looks like Princess Ami. Her father was the king of Thessaly..." He shook his head. "But I thought she committed suicide after...after Zoisite 'died'."

Beryl nodded.

"The best weakness that humans have," she said, "is love." _I have experienced that myself, and it worked oh so well,_ she thought. "You insert love into an equation, and suddenly a weakness emerges in even the strongest of souls."

Endymion's eyes flickered.

"I think our leadership should prove to be a little surprising to them."

* * *

Outside, the chaos had defeaned the soldiers.

Inside, it was silent as death.

The soldiers' shoes clicked across the smoothly polished floors as they moved more deeply into the palace, down a narrow corridor. They spoke in whispers, not quite sure why.

Their leader was still slightly shaken over the death of her sisters, especially in such a horrifying way. She imagined it must have paralleled the way the Moon fell. The dark forces overwhelming the forces of good...

"Sailor Moon? Are you okay?"

Sailor Moon shook her head of the images, then turned a weak smile on Sailor Mercury, who had placed a hand on her shoulder. She had spoken a bit above a whisper.

"I'm fine."

"This place is huge," Sailor Jupiter said, her voice also raising slightly above their previous level. "What are we even looking for? Why are we on the inside?"

"Beryl must have a portal to the Underworld here," Sailor Mars said.

"That's irrelevant," said Sailor Venus. "What _does_ matter is Beryl's source of power from Hades. We have to find that and destroy it."

"How do we even know there _is_ a source?" Sailor Mercury said. "She could receive the power directly into her from Hades."

"Are you kidding? A god's full power would vaporize a mortal if they even _looked _at it, much less received it," Sailor Venus said.

"Remember Semele?" Sailor Moon put in. "Her foolish request killed her."

"True..."

"Look at us, even," Sailor Venus said, turning to her friends. "We have the power of the gods, but their power is channeled through our crystals. Surely if Beryl had Hades' power, especially in the volumes she has it, she must have some vast power source that she channels it through. Whatever that is, we have to get to it and destroy it."

Sailor Mars narrowed her eyes. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Sailor Jupiter said, and the women fell silent and listened.

"It's a clatter, and screeching..."

"Oh, no." Sailor Moon moaned, and brandished her sceptre again.

Sure enough, a demon force blasted through the small tunnel, blowing over the girls and knocking them apart several yards. They recovered shortly though, and began slashing at the army with their powers again.

* * *

They targeted Sailor Jupiter first.

She felt a threat coming from above, and began the lightning rod atop her tiara crackling with power. But when she looked up to meet the strength that came against her, the lightning went out and the smug smile dropped from her face.

Descending from the sky, wavy mahogany hair blowing in a light wind, was Nephrite.

Sailor Jupiter fell to her knees, unknowingly exposing herself to the devices of the demons about her. Had they not been in fear of the general descending to the ground before them, they probably would have struck her down. But they merely knelt alongside her, bowing at the general in awe.

"Ne—neph...Nephrite?"

"My dear Lita," he said, alighting before her. Jupiter's subconscious screamed at her to stand, to take heed of the scorning tone in his voice, but her soul pushed it inside, indulging herself in his luxurious brown eyes, willing away the nagging feeling at the glint within them.

"Nephrite," she said, remaining on her knees before him. She reached up to grab his hands. He took one of hers, almost patronizingly.

"So wonderful to see you again, Lita, and at this moment. Come close to me..." He drew her up, and gathered her close. "Come close."

Sailor Mars, coincidentally, had a free moment and turned an eye towards Jupiter.

"Jupiter!"

The scream saved her life. For she turned her eyes toward Mars, thinking it had been a cry for distress, and saw the glinting silver blade that had been headed for her head.

Quick as lightning she jumped away from Nephrite, and he stumbled from the force of his swing, cursing. "Damnit, woman!"

"Nephrite..." she whispered plaintively.

* * *

Mars stared at Lita, heaving breaths, then cried out as her world went black.

"Surprise," said a cold voice into her ear, a hand roughly spinning her around.

The hand from her eyes was removed and she stared into the sky blue eyes of Jadeite, her former lover.

"Jade...wha—" Sailor Mars looked frightened. "A ghost? A spirit? What...what are you?"

"Shh," he said. "Just—"

Sailor Mars kicked him in the groin.

"Ouch, fuck you!" Jadeite yelled, reaching his hand out. Sailor Mars was still somewhat off-guard, having only kicked him to immobilize him as she found out his motives, but the blast from his hand knocked her on her posterior and rendered her motionless.

"Oh my god..."

* * *

Sailor Moon sliced the blunt end of her sceptre and sent out a torrent of ocean water towards her opponents. She had been utilizing mostly Uranus's and Neptune's elements, thinking it a fitting way of revenge for her sisters. 

She turned around to see how her friends fared.

Two were not fighting the youma forces anymore. Jupiter was staring blankly at a red-haired man, seemingly immobilized, and Mars was cowering underneath the wake of a blond-haired man with menacing light blue eyes.

"Oh my god..." Serenity covered her mouth with her hand. "Beryl! Hades' powers...she has their souls in subjection..."

She began to step towards her friends, calling their names, but a curtain of demons formed before her, pushing her away from them.

* * *

Sailor Mercury closed her eyes and concentrated on building a torrent of water when she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. She whirled, fully intending to smack her water into its chest, when she gasped loudly and dropped her water ball on the floor, where it splashed and disappeared.

"Zoisite!"

"Ami," Zoisite said, his eyes smiling at Mercury. "It's been so long..."

* * *

Sailor Venus knew someone was behind her before he took a step, and she swung her leg around in a roundhouse kick.

The someone grabbed her ankle, twisted it, and sent her spinning to the floor.

Sailor Venus landed on the floor with a thud and squeezed her eyes shut to ride the wave of pain.

No sooner had she opened her eyes then she saw grey ones boring into hers...

...and then she felt her body covered with another.

* * *

"Girls, help me! We have to get through to Beryl!"

Sailor Moon breathed heavily, finally frowning and cursing loudly, then focused her energy into the sceptre. A long beam of silver power emitted from it, and she cut a swath through the curtain of demons separating her from her allies.

She peered through. Mars and Jupiter were still in their positions, but now Mercury was staring, lovestruck, at a thin blond-haired man, and Venus was pinnied underneath a silver-haired man.

What...why were they so uncertain? It was obvious their loves were villains, having descended with the demon army. Sailor Moon looked, confusedly, at her friends, then closed her eyes and reached within herself to touch the essences of her friends that lay within.

_I can heal him!_

Sailor Moon clapped a hand over her mouth, then removed it. "Sailors, no! They're under Beryl's control! You'll never get them back...not this way..."

Her voice was lost in the hallway, for the girls were paying her no heed. She felt it inside. Their souls were fighting her, shaking her words away, denying it. _I can! I can! He loves me!_ she felt inside her, and tears burned her eyes.

She screamed at them frantically, trying to get their attention. But all was lost against the force of their love for the four men they faced now, and her screams fell on deaf ears. The demons drew the girls farther down the halls of the obsidian palace, far away from the support of each other.

"She's used love as a force for evil," Sailor Moon said, the tears now falling down her cheeks.

Her crystalline blue eyes hardened.

"I won't let her! I'm going to destroy her once and for all...and free love from her grasp!"


	31. The Confrontation: Part I

**The Confrontation – Part I**

Sailor Moon ran.

She knew not where she ran, or even the layout of the huge, darkly gleaming palace around her – only that she felt the black power increasing with every step, and she knew that she was nearing Hades' dark power. She probed deep within herself, but she could not feel the presence of any of her friends, even slightly.

_What is this?_ she wondered as she ran, her scepter gripped tightly in her hand. _Why...it's almost as if it is a battle between the gods..._

She nearly stopped in her tracks, her boots sliding across the polished floors. The gods had been known to have had squabbles in the past. Why, there was the usurping of Uranus...and Saturn...and then, of course, Troy.

Troy was perhaps the most poignant example...for in that war, humans had been used as mere props. The war had been begun by the gods, and perpetuated by the gods.

Were they in a mere battle between the gods...?

But no...behind them were the strength of Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, and Mars, four of the greatest Olympians, and Luna, a powerful goddess. The only one that stood against them was Hades, the god of the underworld...and Saturn's powers were under the control of that one as well...

Was Hades, with the aid of Saturn, attempting to rise against the Olympians? He had never wanted to become an Olympian himself, refusing to meet with the other deities on the great Mount Olympus. Had his refusal just been a way of biding his time...? And Saturn had been upset by the great Jupiter so long ago...

Sailor Moon tightened her grip around her scepter and pounded her boots harder against the ground. What the gods chose to do was no concern of hers. She had to fight for her friends...for her sisters...for her love...and for her soul.

* * *

Suddenly the hands on her neck became unloving, and hard...they squeezed her throat, cutting off vital air.

Sailor Venus writhed under Kunzite's pressure, struggling to unclamp his hands. She reared back her leg and pushed her knee into her attacker's groin; when he flinched, she pushed the heavy weight of Kunzite from her body and rolled out from under him, pulling herself to her feet and heaving deep breaths.

Not that it hadn't been difficult. Oh, the sweet feeling of her love's arms wrapped around her, his warm hands caressing her face...

She regarded Kunzite. His grey eyes were confused, staring at the hands he had so recently had around his enemy's body. They darkened, then lightened again, and he stared at Sailor Venus.

"Mina...ko..."

"You remember."

"Yes." His eyes were dark. "I am to kill you."

He lunged at her, but she fell away. In retaliation he brought a heavily booted foot against her stomach, and she exhaled sharply, falling to the ground.

Sailor Venus girded her mind.

Kunzite was now her enemy.

* * *

Sailor Moon was still running when a torrent of demons, the most horrifying she had encountered yet, washed over her, knocking her down and filling the area with a foul odor.

She stood to fight them, but the room went pitch black, and she felt herself riding on the waves of demons. She screamed, tried to fight her way out of the army...but they weren't hurting her.

She felt her motion stop, and she was dumped from the legion of demons. As abruptly as the light had disappeared, it reappeared, albeit dimly. Sailor Moon looked up from her position on the blackly shining floor to regard the demon queen herself, Queen Beryl, seated in a black stone throne on a dais above where Sailor Moon stood.

A small, wicked grin curved over Beryl's face.

"So, Queen Serenity...we meet again."

"For the last time," Sailor Moon said defiantly, standing.

Queen Beryl laughed loudly, then waved her hand at Sailor Moon. "You really think you can stand against me? You don't even have the help of your powered Sailor friends." Her smile widened. "Your sisters were made short work of by the sentries. They tore them apart quite quickly after you left...literally."

Sailor Moon winced visibly, and Beryl chuckled a bit.

"Yes...and the other four are being taken care of by their former lovers...my wonderful generals," she continued, clapping her hands. "Isn't it just coincidence that your four soldiers are held under such a spell by my foremost generals?"

"What did you do to them?" Sailor Moon asked, incensed.

"Ah, and that is my finest masterpiece," said Beryl. "You see, little sailor girl...the four men whom your friends loved so much also happened to be the foremost warriors of King Endymion's army. The four strongest generals...and they all had special powers as well.

"But each of them has a weakness – the love of four women from their home countries. And although they pledged allegiance to Elysian...their true allegiance was to their loves." Beryl smiled wickedly. "Love...it is such a funny thing! It claims to bond people together. And yet it can be used to divide. As now. Where are your friends now, Serenity?"

Sailor Moon tightened her grip around her moon sceptre. "You've used their love to twist their minds," she replied harshly.

"No," Beryl said. "I only used their love to divide. Their minds are already twisted." She stood to her full height, smiling down at Sailor Moon. "Speaking of love...I'd like to introduce you to someone."'

Her smile widened.

"_Princess _Serenity, I give you my partner nation's leader..."

The light shifted, revealing a slightly smaller throne to her right.

Endymion smiled serenely.

Serenity gasped. "Ma..Mamoru?"

Endymion stood, what dim light there was seeming to fall directly onto him. "Princess Serenity.." His eyes, already a midnight shade of blue, darkened.

"Princess?"

"With your trespass, do you really think I would receive you back as my wife?"

"But..." Sailor Moon heaved, grasping desperately for words. "Mamoru...I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you or seem distrustful...I was scared by my sisters. Your counsel about not letting them convince me was right. I am so sorry." Her lip quivered. "I love you."

There was a perceptible flicker in Endymion's eyes, but they quickly returned to the darkness that shrouded them. "Betraying my trust and setting my room on fire? That was dark."

His arm tightened, and for the first time Sailor Moon glimpsed the wickedly glinting golden blade in his hands. "But your infidelity cannot be excused!"

He was nearly on top of her by the time she saw the movement, the gleaming blade heading straight for her throat. A quick avoidance got her out of harm's way, but she lost her balance and tumbled to the floor. Almost as quickly Endymion slashed again. She rolled across the cold obsidian, aiming to avoid his quick thrusts of the blade to avoid being skewed across it.

Beryl laughed.

"Infidelity?" she asked, heaving.

Endymion brought the sword up again, slashing towards her, and she yelped and scooted away, finally bringing herself back to her feet.

"Don't play the dolt," he replied icily, lifting himself from the ground. He swung the heavy sword at her again and she tried to dodge it. Missing and losing her balance again earned her a neat slash in her side. She yelped in pain.

"I don't know what you mean...I have been looking for you since the day you left!"

"Liar." Another slash, this time into the flesh on her leg. It buckled, and she fell again.

Endymion's face twisted into a wicked smile, and he brought his sword to Serenity's throat. "You'll feel the pain of lying to me, lunar scum."

Serenity looked up and, for the first time, stared into the darkness present in Endymion's eyes.

She woke up.

Endymion brought his sword above again.

It clanked.

Sailor Moon had whipped out her Moon Sceptre, and she used it to parry Endymion's blow. The two were held in a deadlock, Sailor Moon staring at the darkness evident in her beloved's eyes.

_Something is wrong._

She focused her energy and pushed Endymion's sword from her own, then jumped to her feet, wincing at the pain in her leg.

Endymion seemed to nod in both annoyance and satisfaction. He would be gaining a fight, but he wasn't sure he wanted to fight with Sailor Moon. There was determination in her eyes, and he knew that Serenity was no timid person.

"What is wrong with you, Endymion?" Sailor Moon asked, and she surprised him by striking the first blow. He deflected it and fought back, gripping his sword with both hands and swinging at the senshi. She parried the blow and came back with another.

They were fencing. Beryl watched, eyes narrowed.

"With me?" He seemed surprised at her boldness. "The question, my _dear_," he spat, bitter venom on the last word, "is what will be the matter with you...adulteress."

"_Adulteress?_" Sailor Moon was so surprised by the word that she allowed Endymion to get in a vital hit, slicing her across her arm. She barely felt the pain – the emotional tack had been much harder to deal with. "I would never commit adultery against you!"

"Liar!" Endymion's passion was so great, he stopped mid-attack and heaved, pointing his sword at Sailor Moon. "Not only did you wrong me, you wronged me with _my best friend_!"

The last came out on a sob.

It hit her like a stone.

"With...Helios?" Her eyes lit on Queen Beryl. She actually looked...worried.

"_You!_" She lifted her scepter and pointed at the evil queen. "You _tricked_ him!" She turned back to Endymion. "You saw Helios, heard his declaration of love?"

"And saw your wistful expression of return."

"You saw the Golden Arrow of Eros!"

Endymion's face contorted from one of anger and hurt to one of shock.

His eyes flickered ocean blue.

"A...a golden arrow of Eros," he said. He looked at Sailor Moon, annoyed. "Those were my father's weapons!"

"One was in Helios's leg...on the way to the underworld," she said, flickering a glance at Beryl. "He had been shot by two of the guards in the palace, who chased him as he escaped. And blindfolded him. When he came to me, I untied his blind. I was the first one he saw."

"And so he fell into infatuation." Endymion fell quiet. "How...would the guard..."

His eyes slowly drifted to Beryl. He blinked, and his eyes cleared briefly.

"You...tricked me?"

"No!" Beryl said adamantly, advancing forward and pointing towards Sailor Moon. "She...she betrayed you! You hate her!"

"I...Serenity?" Endymion shifted his gaze back to Sailor Moon. Slowly, his eyes began to clear. "I...am sorry."

Sailor Moon smiled.

"I..."

Suddenly the room went completely dark, and a fluttering came into it. A deafening shrieking descended onto the room. Sailor Moon covered her ears in pain, falling to her knees in shock.

The eerie shrieking was soon joined by more – that of an Endymion in pain.

As suddenly as it began, it was over, and the room's dim lighting returned. However, when Sailor Moon opened her eyes, only she and Beryl were in the room.

"You – _what did you do to him!_" she shrieked at the older woman.

The dark queen seemed just as angry. "Shut up, you stupid girl," she said irritably, and for the first time to Sailor Moon she seemed human, given to emotional displays. "He shall be fine. I have to repair the world of damage you did!"

She stormed towards the moon princess. "I finally gather his confidence and his love and you come to take it all away!"

"His love?" Sailor Moon scoffed. "You think you have his _love_? You have a lot to learn about love!"

"And you thought you knew all as well," Beryl shot back, bitterly. "But I suppose you thought wrong – or did your friends not leave you for their past lovers?"

Sailor Moon narrowed her eyes. "You think you're in control. You can't control something as strong as love...or the souls of those who take it," she replied curtly. "It will backfire on you, Beryl."

"Ah...but by the time it does, you'll be dead." She smiled wickedly, and with a horrific shriek called forth an innumerable wave of demons.

* * *

Sailor Moon swallowed the yelp that threatened to emerge from her throat as the demons battered her. Only fifteen minutes had passed and she was already in unbearable pain, barely able to stand under the force of the demonic force. The demons tore through her flesh; she was losing blood rapidly, and her head was spinning out of control. Another tear knocked her to her hands and knees. She cried out in pain. Surely another hit would knock her unconscious, and a few more would render her dead...just as Beryl had said.

She cried out again, a simple cry to the goddess Selene, to carry her body away to the dreamworld rightly.

Suddenly she felt a strong surge of power deep within her. She shot to her feet, nearly toppling from the force. In shock, she looked down at her feet.

They were glowing bright red.

_Mars!_

Her quick reconnaissance took the demons aback, so she took a quick moment to tap into that power. Sailor Mars...she could feel her again. _Why...how?_ She concentrated deeply on Mars' power. It was definitely increasing her strength, her ability. What was happening?

_What is happening?_

I am praying, she heard return.

_And so am I!_

Sailor Mars had released her reliance on herself; she was relying on the gods, the powerful beings who channeled power into her and her friends. As was Serenity herself. Their simultaneous prayers were reconnecting them.

Reconnection! She had to get the others...

_Tell them all to pray_, she said shortly, and thrust back at the demons with new confidence.


	32. The Confrontation: Part II

**The Confrontation - Part II**

Tell them all to pray.

But how could she? The other soldiers were still fighting for their loves with their own strengths, neglecting to rely on each other. They were allowing their separate selves to overtake their solidarity...

Sailor Mars looked around in distress. Jadeite had regained his senses and was advancing upon her again. She stood, her legs wobbling under their newly regained strength, and advanced upon Jadeite with conviction and new intensity.

But as she did, she felt a weakening within herself.

_Sailor Moon_.

The prayer she had offered had given her strength to her leader. As she had asked for the gods to preserve her, she had at the same time offered her powers to a greater cause. Now, as she took her powers back, her fearless and beloved leader was losing the strength and energy she sorely needed.

And then Sailor Mars found herself in the horns of a dilemma. Did she regather her own energy and attempt to save her lover? Or did she die at his hands and donate it to Sailor Moon, losing him to the darkness forever?

It was a difficult decision.

She turned inwards for the answer...touching the part of her that connected with her golden-haired leader.

She saw pain...and weakness. Whatever was happening to her, she was fighting a losing battle, slowly giving herself over to the force. Deeper, underlying the superficial, was a sense of despair. Mars questioned it...and the answer was abandonment.

She felt abandoned. Because deep down inside, her fight was not solely for her Endymion anymore. It was for her four friends, to save them, to try her mightiest to save their lovers.

_That is worth sacrificing for_.

Sailor Mars plopped back down onto the cold obsidian floor, closing her eyes and opening her heart in supplication to the god Mars.

_Protect her, Mars. Protect Sailor Moon. Let her defeat the darkness._

* * *

Sailor Moon felt the strength of Mars – which had been so abruptly taken from her – regained into her body. She clawed through the demons, standing up and facing the mass. They had tumbled in Queen Beryl's direction.

A kick in her stomach floored her again though, and a heavy bash made her cry out in pain. She felt herself literally lift from the floor and go flying backwards, eagerly followed by the demon flood. Queen Beryl was in the thick, with her demonic force, her hand outstretched, her eyes wild. She had just blasted her with power emanating from her hands.

_Gods_, was she powerful!

_She's not fighting me directly – she's using these demons_, Sailor Moon thought. _I wonder why? This is something Beryl would take pleasure in. And she's certainly stronger than these demons!_

Sailor Moon climbed to her feet and, brandishing her sceptre, closed her eyes – or rather, one, for the other had been swollen shut – and continued to pray...praying with all her strength that her friends would return to their senses.

* * *

Sailor Mercury and her group of demons was located closest to Sailor Mars...and they definitely felt the power radiating from Mars and her prayer. The demons started, chittering in high-pitches.

They parted.

Sailor Mercury slowly, slowly turned away from her accoster Zoisite, and finally noticed something outside of her individual situation. Venus, engaged in battle with Kunzite. Jupiter, avoiding Nephrite's easy swings.

And Mars, knelt on the floor in prayer, surrounded by amazing power.

Mercury, too, dropped to her knees, clasped her hands in prayer. A blue aura surrounded her, knocking her attacker backwards and onto the floor.

* * *

The next time Sailor Moon swung her sceptre, a stream of blue water cut out of it.

She breathed heavily, her body ragged and weakened from fighting the demons. Halfway there. She hoped the rest of them would come to their senses quickly...her body couldn't take much more abuse...

_But it will_, she said firmly, tightening her grasp on the sceptre. _I'll take as much as it takes...Beryl must_ not _win this battle_.

The demons surged towards her once again, knocking her backwards. She stumbled, wincing as she watched the blood run down her arm, but she brought herself back up to face the demon forcefield that attacked her.

"Give up!" Queen Beryl yelled angrily. "You're wasting precious time!" Her hand nervously fingered a yellow-brown orb that hung around her neck.

Sailor Moon's drooping eyes lit up when she saw it. Even at this distance, she could see dark shadows circling inside of the tiny orb.

Her eyes widened.__

_That must be her source of power_, she said. _It has to be!_

Suddenly it all sparked in her mind, and she hoped that her friends would reconnect with speed.

Suddenly she thrust out her hand and felt the lightning of Jupiter crackle through it, electrocuting a shockwave of the demons, who sizzled and fell to the floor. She smiled.

_Yes, Venus would be the stubborn one..._

"So jealous," she whispered, knowing that Beryl could hear her. "No matter what you do to me, you ugly woman, I will always be remembered as the most beautiful mortal. And _I_ am and always _will _be the only one who can conquer Endymion's heart."

Beryl steamed, and Sailor Moon fixed a defiant smirk on her face, delivering the death sentence.

"You may love him, but he will never love you back."

The dark queen was infuriated. Unthinkingly she charged into the demonic fray. The demons protested shrilly, but any that would not move she blasted aside with waves of power much too strong for her task – her only thought in mind to get to Sailor Moon.

Once reaching the young heroine, she steamed in front of her for a few moments. Then surprisingly, she reached out and wrapped a hand around her neck.

"Endymion loves _me_," she hissed. "Not _you_. _Me_."

_Come on, Venus!_

"Ha," Sailor Moon choked, gulping hard. "I didn't need dark mind control to get him to love me. He doesn't love you; you're just controlling his soul so he _thinks_ he does."

A warmth overtook Sailor Moon, and she glowed slightly; she realized that Venus had finally realized her role, and had given herself over. Finally, she smiled for real.

"And you won't anymore," she said softly.

With her free hands she raised the sceptre, infusing all the powers of all the deities into it.

It connected royally with the orb hanging around Beryl's neck, the point at the top tearing a gash into her flesh. The sorceress's eyes widened, and her grip on Sailor Moon weakened. Sailor Moon's clear blue eyes came to rest on the silver sparkling crystal atop the sceptre.

_I wish that all the souls were free again_.

* * *

Indeed, the demons did stop chittering as their former queen fell to the ground betwixt them, heaving for her life.

An eerie silence overtook the place, as the souls looked up at Sailor Moon, then back at the queen, then up at Sailor Moon again.

She smiled weakly.

"You are free..."

The low voices of the dead begun again, and they looked back at their still-alive queen.

Then, again with horrifying screeches, they moved. But this time, they converged on the evil sorceress who lay between them.

Sailor Moon covered her mouth with shock as she heard the pain-filled screams of the dark queen.

The building began to shake, and she dodged a fist-sized piece of obsidian falling from the sky. The palace was...crumbling? As she looked back at the group of souls, some of them has parted, and were scaling the walls, tearing down pillars and supports. They were destroying the evil queen and all remannts of her. Obviously other souls had gotten the same idea, because the palace was shaking.

Go.

Get out now.

We are destroying our oppressor so we can return to peace.

Run while you can.

Thank you for wishing us free.

On bloody legs wracked with pain, she turned and ran.

* * *

Once again, she didn't know to where she ran. The little light that had been in the palace was now extinguished by the newly-freed souls, who were taking down the palace. Incredibly, she heard voices directing her.

This way.

To the left.

Move. It's about to hit you.

Straight ahead.

Straight ahead indeed. She was back in the grand atrium in which she had left her four friends...and sure enough, there they were. And they were holding the loves of their lives in their hands.

_Well, I did wish to free _all_ the souls_.

"We have to run," she said, heaving a few deep breaths, her legs wobbling. "They are destroying the palace. And Beryl."

"Why?"

She smiled again. "They need closure."

"What about..."

"They will help him out." She smiled wider. "I am sure of that."

Nodding, Venus prodded Kunzite. He stood and walked to Sailor Moon. With a quick swing, she was in his arms.

"But—"

"It's faster this way. Let's get out!"

* * *

The darkly sparkling door never looked so good. Jupiter kicked through it with a loud yell, and the light of day greeted their faces.

As they ran through the archway crumbled after them, Sailor Moon still tightly held in Kunzite's arms. They ran still, aiming to distance themselves from the palace – as much as possible. Only when they were a safe distance from the palace did they turn to view it.

There were millions of them...had been millions under Beryl's dark control. Millions now freed. They soared around the evil black palace, screeching to each other, bringing down the dark fortress with speed. They watched as the palace crumbled to little more than bits.

"Serenity?"

Sailor Moon arched her head around, and Kunzite spun so she could better see what was behind them.

Standing there was Endymion. He looked worse for the wear, but he was smiling brightly. Helios, still in pegasus form, was standing benevolently behind him.

Sailor Moon's face broke into a smile. "Endymion!"

He ran forward, and carefully took her from Kunzite's arms.

She protested. "I can stand!"

He conceded to have her stand besides him, supporting her with his own strong arms.

She looked into his eyes. "Endymion," she said, "I am so...so sorry. I should have never distrusted you."

He shook his head. "A natural reaction," he replied. "I should have never let Beryl push me into such a position. I was just so scared...so scared that she would find out about you and I, and make my life miserable." He crooked a finger and placed it under her chin, cocking her head up. "But we don't have to worry about her any longer, or her advancing on our kingdom."

Sailor Moon smiled.

"Our kingdom..."


	33. Epilogue: The Denouement

**Epilogue **

**The Dénouement**

The day of Serenity and Endymion's formal wedding ceremony dawned bright and clear, with the birds singing sweetly in the trees. They had decided to have it outside, on the front grounds of Golden Palace.

All of the palace staff was present and visible – including the four maidservants who had taken so well to Serenity. And the four Sailor Soldiers – Ami, Rei, Lita, and Minako – were there, dressed in pale pink, serving as Serenity's bridesmaids. The girls were in a gazebo, readying the bride for her day.

Serenity giggled with glee as Minako, her maid-of-honor, slipped a silver tiara on top of her head. "Oh, this is going to be wonderful!" Serenity exclaimed. "I always dreamed about my wedding day..."

"Hold still, Serenity!" Minako yelled playfully, yanking Serenity's arm. "You're moving around so much!"

"Hey, you're one to talk," Serenity teased back. "A little birdie told me you moved around just as much on your wedding day!"

Minako blushed and giggled.

"It's such a pretty day outside," Rei said, peering dreamily behind the translucent curtain of the gazebo. "A good portent for a wedding ceremony."

"A good thing, too," Lita added. "We don't want to get rained on!"

"Silly!"

Serenity sighed as she watched her friends playfully tickle each other as they gathered their things together. "I always thought my parents and sisters would be here to celebrate this day with me," she said wistfully.

"Cheer up, Queen Serenity," Ami said, wrapping an arm around her friend's shoulder. "They're here in spirit..."

She opened her other hand and showed Serenity the two orbs hovering over her hand. One sparkled in navy; the other glowed in aqua.

Serenity smiled. The two crystals had been found while crawling away from the collapsing rubble of the obsidian palace, set on the bottom of the hill the fortress had been built on. It had been a peace offering, a sort of apology, although her sisters' deaths had not been the fault of the souls under control of Beryl.

"Yes," she said softly, taking the crystals into her hand, "I suppose they are..."

She released them, but they remained and hovered over her shoulders.

"King Endymion."

"Helios, I'm busy," Endymion said, straightening his bow tie. Three random servants had already interrupted him to ask him about reception cuisine, how to arrange the flowers, and to find the priest to ready the altar.

"Oh yes...Helios, they're looking for you to ready the altar."

"Of course, your highness, but I can't go out there..."

"Why not? They need you now."

"Yes, your highness, I know, and preparing the altar will take some time, which is why I need you to—"

"Helios, _please_!" Endymion turned to face his best friend. "What could possibly be so important that it impedes you from fixing the sacred altar?"

"The golden arrow, Endymion!" Helios answered, his voice slightly raised. His normally pale face was a little pink. "In all the excitement of the last few days, you've forgotten..."

Endymion turned red and placed a hand over his mouth to stifle his laugh. "You mean...all these days you've still been in love with Serenity?"

Helios' blush deepened. "Yes, highness," he admitted. "I didn't want to bother you – planning a wedding ceremony in a week is quite an undertaking – but I cannot prepare the altar like this...it will defile it."

A crooked smile sprung to Endymion's face. "Were you jealous?"

"Endymion." Helios dropped his honorific title for the second time, but Endymion could hardly notice.

"Were you?"

"I...ah." He sighed, knowing he would not get off the hook without answering. "Of course, King Endymion. You know your father's magic."

Endymion burst into laughter.

"Endymion," Nephrite said, poking his head into the gazebo where the men were preparing for the wedding. "Where's – oh, there's Helios. Helios—"

"He knows, Nephrite," Endymion said, a twinkle still in his eye. "But he can't leave me, otherwise he may attack my wife."

A grin leaped on Nephrite's face, and he laughed heartily. When Minako – barely aided by a blushing Serenity – told the story of Helios' striking with the golden arrow, even Helios had to laugh at himself.

Still smiling, Endymion closed his eyes, and he a hand on Helios's forehead. The priest glowed a bright golden color. Endymion stepped back and opened his eyes.

Helios smiled at the prince.

"No burning love in your heart for Serenity?"

Helios chuckled, turning red, and he placed a hand on his chest. "None that I can feel, your majesty."

"Just don't jump on her when we get to the altar."

"Of course not, your majesty." _I will be teased about this for the rest of my natural life_, he thought, and sighed.

Endymion looked down at his hand, then quickly tucked it behind his back.

It wasn't quick enough, however, for Endymion's best man not to catch the tremble.

"A little nervous, King Endymion?" Kunzite whispered, a chuckle in his voice.

"Shut up..."

"Endymion...you're _married already_," Zoisite said, barely able to hold his laughter.

"I know...but this is so...formal," Endymion whispered back. "We really will be linked together for life. And Serenity will really be my queen."

"She was already," Nephrite said with a smile. "And she will be just as wonderful as she was before. This only makes it official."

"Yes, and—"

Helios whispered a loud _shhh_, and the five men straightened up like little boys called to attention. Zoisite's eyes glazed over as Ami walked in first, dressed in pale pink and carrying a nosegay of pink roses.

The four generals watched in awe as their loves wandered in, like dreamy goddesses, dressed in airy pink gowns and crowned with flowers. No more talking ensued as all the men watched the bridesmaids enter the room.

A pregnant pause hung in the air, and then the gathering sighed collectively, and they rose together to honor the bride entering the palace.

Endymion breathed deeply. Serenity...his queen, his lover, the wonder of his life...

She was dressed in the wedding gown he had picked out and dressed her in the day he brought her to his palace. A serene smile alighted her face, and a light illuminated her eyes when she looked up to face her husband.

Endymion trembled with the force of staying his passion and not running up to Serenity and smothering her with his kisses.

He did, however, stretch out his hand to take hers as he led her up the stairs to the elevated platform where the altar had been placed.

Helios smiled at the two, then began his service.

But the two lovers could barely listen to the words of the priest as they stared at each other. All they could think about was their dreams for their new life together, unthreatened by any evil forces.

At a point in the ceremony, Helios paused and nodded to the bridesmaids and groomsmen. Nephrite, Kunzite, Rei, and Minako stepped onto the platform, each pair bearing a sparking golden necklace. They placed it over their heads, letting them rest around their necks.

The two blue orbs – one aqua, one navy – soared from over Serenity's shoulder and came to rest in the four-pronged endings of the chains, turning the golden chains into pendants.

"Uranus and Neptune – Diana and Trivia – wished it to be this way," Helios said softly. "Their spirits are alive, and they spoke to me in a dream. They wished to be bonded to you, so that your two souls – a husband and wife – would be as close as those who came from one, and were bonded together from birth."

Serenity's eyes welled with tears, and she looked down to finger the aqua orb resting on her chest. Trivia would be close to her heart, always. And Diana would be, too – through Endymion.

"You may kiss your bride, Endymion," Helios said, and smiled.

The words did not have to be repeated, and Endymion enveloped his beautiful wife into a tight grasp, kissing her with all he had in her.

They were bonded by the everlasting power of their love...and their souls.


End file.
